Fulbright Reality Czech

Sarah Berger is a developmental scientist. Based at the City University of New York’s College of Staten Island, she spent six months last academic year at the Humanoid Lab of the Czech Technical University in Prague, using AI and video analysis to explore how babies learn to move, develop awareness of their own bodies, and how technology can help detect early movement-related conditions. But Sarah’s Fulbright experience was about more than research. Two months after returning home, she reflects on an international adventure shared with her husband and son, who accompanied her to the Czech Republic. For scholars wondering whether to bring their children along on a Fulbright grant, Sarah’s message is clear: "Bring them. The program welcomed our family at every turn, from orientation to concerts. Jordy's semester became as much a part of the exchange as my research." Six months, three of us, one city On New Year's Day 2026, my husband Roy, our 11-year-old son Jordy, and ...

Cate Pfau is a teacher. She currently  teaches Kindergarten at Marymount School of New York and previously spent the 2025/2026 school year as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant at Obchodní akademie Uherské Hradiště.. When she first arrived, the town felt unfamiliar and difficult to navigate. Over the course of her Fulbright year, however, Cate began creating a very different kind of map, one made up of classrooms, cafés, walks along the Morava River, shared adventures, and, above all, the people who made Uherské Hradiště feel like home. “I may have arrived with an empty map, but I left with one filled with memories, relationships, and places,” she writes as she looks back on a year that changed the way she thinks about home, teaching, and discovering a new place. When I arrived in Uherské Hradiště, it took time to orient myself. Relying on a map for such a small town might have seemed unnecessary, but early on I couldn’t navigate anywhere without one. Whether I was finding whic...

Jindřich Duník je odborníkem na využití dat ze senzorů v návrhu navigačních systémů. Jeho kmenovým pracovištěm je Katedra kybernetiky na Západočeské univerzitě v Plzni. Během jarního semestru uplynulého akademického roku na tři měsíce „odskočil“ na americkou Virginia Tech, kde se věnoval vývoji spolehlivého navigačního systému, který se obejde bez satelitního signálu. Před zahájením výzkumného projektu si Spojené státy užil společně s manželkou a třemi dětmi. Sladit kalendáře pěti členů rodiny sice nebyl snadný úkol, ale společné poznávání Ameriky si všichni užili. Po několika týdnech cestování rodina odjela a Jindřich Duník se naplno soustředil na svůj výzkumný projekt a na spolupráci s předním odborníkem na bezpečné navigační systémy Mathieuem Joergenem. Také si po letech rodinného života připomněl, jaké to je být pánem svého času a spoléhat se jen sám na sebe. Budoucím stipendistům proto radí: „Vyražte na pivo s každým, koho potkáte, jakmile to jen jde, a neodkládejte to.“ Fulbright...

Adam Neugebauer je školák. Uplynulý školní rok však Základní školu U Pálenice v Kunovicích vyměnil za Manhattan Middle School of the Arts and Academics v americkém Coloradu. Adamův otec Petr Neugebauer je fyzik a držitel Fulbright-Masarykova stipendia. Na University of Colorado v Boulderu se deset měsíců věnoval výzkumu nové třídy dvourozměrných polymerových materiálů s mimořádným potenciálem pro budoucí elektronické technologie. Do Spojených států ho na stipendijní pobyt doprovodila manželka a tři děti. Syn Adam, který v USA úspěšně zvládl 7. třídu, hrál na lesní roh ve školním orchestru a střílel góly za místní hokejový tým.    Vítám vás u mého příběhu z města Boulder v Coloradu. První, co byste měli vědět, je to, že nejznámější věcí tu jsou Flatirons (žehličky). Jednoduše řečeno, jsou to skály ve tvaru žehliček, které můžete vidět na obrázku pod textem. Já jsem zde strávil svůj sedmý ročník.  Foto: Adam Neugebauer v americké škole Manhattan Middle School of the Arts an...

Evy Ryan is an alumna of the Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Program. During the past academic year, she taught English at Stojanovo gymnázium in Velehrad. While most Fulbright ETAs are placed in medium-sized or smaller towns by U.S. standards, Velehrad, with just over 1,100 inhabitants, is among the smallest host communities in the program. The school is located within the grounds of a former Cistercian monastery, part of one of the Czech Republic's most significant historical and cultural landmarks. With approximately 270 students, many of whom live in the school's dormitories during the week and return home on weekends, the school offers a close-knit community unlike most educational settings. Evy also lived on the school campus throughout her grant, allowing her to experience daily life in Velehrad far beyond the classroom. Over time, she discovered that the most memorable lessons of her Fulbright year did not come from teaching alone, but from the generosity and accep...

Allison Hafner, Anna Shepard,  Bianca McNeely, Bree Patzke, and Emma Holdren are alumni of the Fulbright ETA Program. During the past academic year, they taught at High School Kaplice, Gymnázium and Nursing School in Vyškov, Gymnázium Lesní čtvrť in Zlín, the Engineering High School and Business Academy in Bruntál, and Gymnázium Sušice. Each host school and town offered a unique experience, but throughout their grants, they all found themselves asking the same question: How can they meaningfully contribute to the relationship between the United States and the Czech Republic and, in doing so, fulfill the Fulbright mission of serving as so-called citizen diplomats?  In mid-April, the five alumni represented the Czech Fulbright Commission at the ETA Enrichment Seminar, Bridging the Atlantic: 250 Years of Diplomacy and Shared Prosperity, in Bratislava. Hosted by the Slovak Fulbright Commission, the three-day seminar brought together ETAs from across the region for thoughtful discu...

Ester Lišková is the wife of Fulbrighter Petr Liška. She is also a pediatrician and the mother of their one-year-old daughter Lada. In August 2025, Ester and their four-month-old daughter accompanied Petr to Stanford University in California, where he began his Fulbright grant as a physical engineer. What initially seemed like an overwhelming adventure filled with unknowns gradually turned into a deeply rewarding and life-changing experience. Along the way, Ester discovered not only a welcoming local community but also that traveling abroad with a baby came with one unexpected advantage: their daughter quickly became the perfect icebreaker for spontaneous conversations and new friendships. For anyone wondering whether to accompany their Fulbrighter across the Atlantic, Ester’s answer is simple: say yes.  When my husband first mentioned applying for Fulbright, I decided not to think about it too much. I was already pregnant, and the idea of relocating to California with an infant re...