Catalina Lomos was a Luxembourgish 2023-24 Fulbright Research Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Lomos works as a researcher in Luxembourg, at the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER). She holds a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Her research focuses on teachers and teacher collaboration in the context of school effectiveness. Her recent work has examined students and teachers’ use of ICT in classroom practice, using large-scale data and data from digital learning platforms in education. She has worked closely with the Ministry of Education in Luxembourg on many educational projects.
Q: “Can you briefly describe your grant project?”
My project focused on answering this research question: “How do students acquire problem-solving skills using instructional videos?” To learn and research more about this topic, I spent nine months at the Berkeley School of Education, in the Embodied Design Research Laboratory, under the mentorship of Professor Dor Abrahamson.
Q:”How did you hear about the Fulbright Program?”
I read about the Fulbright Program on the website of the Luxembourg National Research Fund. I also knew about the program from other colleagues who had spent some time at an American university. I applied for the Fulbright Program to have the great opportunity to do research in a research laboratory in the USA and to be part of the amazingly rich Fulbright professional network. The selection process was very human and supportive.
Q:”What have you accomplished during your time in the USA? What can you tell us about the initial outcomes of your program?”
I have to say that I accomplished a lot during my time in the USA, both professionally and personally. Professionally, my Fulbright professor-mentor was inspiring, very involved and supportive. I had the opportunity to attend laboratory research meetings, present my work several times, and develop a new research project that will continue in Luxembourg. Perhaps the most important outcome of my program was the fact that my Fulbright professor-mentor will be coming to Luxembourg for a research visit in the fall of 2025, so that we can start or continue the research direction in Luxembourg. Personally, I got the space and focus to think about where my research career is going and where I want to focus my work in the coming years.
Q: “Has the United States been what you expected? In what ways has life in the USA surprised you, either for its similarities to or differences from your own culture?”
The United States, or let’s zoom in on Berkeley, San Francisco, where I lived, was amazing. I learned even more about forward thinking and action; I became even more environmentally aware and eventually became (almost) vegetarian thanks to all the options and farmers markets. The culture has surprised me in a positive way and on a personal level. Perhaps the biggest difference from my culture, on a less positive note, is the homeless problem and, on a positive note, the importance of sports in the local culture!
Q: “What has been your favorite “discovery” in the USA?”
The wonderful array of farmers’ markets, the delicious Japanese food offer, the very polite way of interacting with each other, and the surprisingly collaborative approach to research.
Q: “What will you do after your Fulbright grant? In what ways has your experience in the USA this year impacted your plans for the future? “
After my Fulbright grant, I will continue my collaboration with UC Berkeley and with my Fulbright professor-mentor. As I mentioned earlier, we have started a new research project in collaboration that brings together my previous work and the new research directions I have discovered during my time at UC Berkeley and in the Embodied Design Research Laboratory that I visited.
Q: “What advice would you give to someone who is considering applying to the Fulbright Program?”
For someone who is considering applying for the Fulbright Program, I would tell them to go for it, to see it as a period in their career where they can experience new things and get a chance to reflect on old things. I would say to think carefully about where and what you want to do and to give 100%, as I am sure all Fulbrighters do, always!
Articles are written by Fulbright grantees and do not reflect the opinions of the Fulbright Commission, the grantees’ host institutions, or the U.S. Department of State.