The Făgăraș Research Institute aims to develop interdisciplinary activities in research, education, and policy analysis. The Summer School will, therefore, bring together people who are passionate about various research and action topics.

The Summer School is designed to create a space for interdisciplinary interactions, in order to facilitate collaboration among researchers, practitioners, students, and people from the local community.

The courses will take place throughout the summer, i.e., from June to August, and will be offered by researchers and practitioners from the Institute’s network.

2024 Făgăraș Summer School

2023 Făgăraș Summer School

2022 Făgăraș Summer School

2021 Făgăraș Summer School

2020 Făgăraș Summer School

2019 Făgăraș Summer School

News

Projects

Events

Courses

Team

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Ana Marica

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Anca Molnoș Ph.D.

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Andrei Morar

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Dana Odae M.A.

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Daniela Langusi, Ph.D.

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Elizabeth Maloba

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Irina Toma, M.A.

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Laura Ranca, M.A.

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Lev Fejes, Ph.D.

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Ana-Maria Chirila, M.A.

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Monica Popescu, Ph.D.

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Oana Lup, Ph.D.

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Patrick Mpedzisi

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Ștefan Cibian, Ph.D.

Ana Marica

Ana's professional experience is located at the intersection of learning design, organizational development, and social impact. On a mission to understand how communities can change for the better when self-directed learning principles are introduced in the educational process, she has spent the last 8 years researching and connecting with projects and communities from around the world who actively contribute to reimagining educational paradigms. During this time, she has co-founded Digital Romads, a human resources and organizational design consultancy whose purpose is to support teams and organizations to explore transparent, open, self-managed, and co-created ways of collaborating and communicating. 
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Dana Odae M.A.

Dana Odae has over 14 years of experience in physiotherapy - orthopedic and post-surgical rehabilitation. She extended her experience in the field of prevention by obtaining a Master’s degree in Ergonomics in 2018. Dana’s area of interest is prevention of musculoskeletal pathology, she is currently working on the development of an ergonomics training course aiming to prevent this type of pathology among freelancers in various sectors. In 2004 she graduated from the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports, Specialization in Physical Therapy, Spiru Haret University of Bucharest with a Bachelors degree. In 2018 she finalized an Interuniversity Master of Specialization in Ergonomics (Joint Specialization Master in Risk Management and Occupational Well-Being module Ergonomics) offered by University of Mons / Free University of Brussels / University of Liège / Catholic University of Leuven.

Daniela Langusi, Ph.D.

Dr. Daniela Langusi holds a PhD in Art History from The Pennsylvania State University and specializes in European Renaissance and Baroque art.  She is currently working as an independent lecturer and researcher on several research projects on modern Romanian art and architecture.

Elizabeth Maloba

Elizabeth has twenty years’ experience in addressing complex challenges - she works in cross-sectoral, trans-professional, multistakeholder settings to foster collaborative initiatives; and support shifts in strategies, policies, frameworks and business models. Her expertise is drawn from work in International Cooperation, Development Cooperation, and Private Sector. She works in cross-cultural groups, from grassroots levels to global platforms, to support development of leadership, teams, policies, strategies, plans, and models that contribute to transformation. She works with various staff levels – from entry level to director level – in either individual or group sessions, in both face-to-face and virtual settings. She is passionate about small businesses and draws from lessons in her journey as an entrepreneur to support founders and leaders in growth stage businesses along their journey. She brings skills in capacity building, knowledge management, facilitation, conflict resolution and management to diverse assignments. She has experience across sectors – Agriculture, Health, Financial Services, Retail and Hospitality – and has worked with organisations such as GIZ, UN Women, IFAD, Syngenta, African Heritage, Fila East Africa, Procasur, Nature Kenya, IREN, IHPMR, Ipsos-Synovate, Save the Children, Strathmore Business School to name a few. She holds a number of certificates in corporate governance, leadership, consulting, conflict management, e-learning and business coaching, and a postgraduate diploma in financial management. She lives in Nairobi, works across the World, and speaks English, Swahili, German and French.
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Irina Toma, M.A.

Irina Toma is associate consultant with Highclere Consulting (Brașov), where she is working on Horizon 2020 research projects and public policy analysis. She has an MA in Environmental Management and Policy from Utrecht University and over seven years experience working with several NGOs in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. She worked in reporting sustainablity indicators for Global Reporting Initiative. With Fairfood International Irina conducted the research component for several advocacy campaigns for increasing the sustanability of supply chains and the revienues of agricultural workers and small farmers from Philipines, Central America and Madagascar. She returned to contribute to innovation and best practice transfer and for finding adequate strategies for agricultural and regional development. Currently Irina is developing her partnerships and projects through being part of the FRI network and building her consultancy website www.EPMsustainability.eu.
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NGO and research reports

Fairfood International - Paradise Lost: The bitter reality behind working in the Philippine Pineapple Industry (2013) Fair Trade Advocacy Office – Competition Law Exemptions & Sector Sustain. Agreements (Mar 2016) Alliance Environnement (on behalf of European Commission DG AGRI) - Evaluation of the impact of the CAP on climate change and greenhouse gas emissions – case study report for Romania (Dec 2017) Highclere Consulting - AGRILINK D2.2- The role of advisory services in farmers’ decision making for innovation uptake. Insights from case studies in ROMANIA Highclere Consulting - SALSA D6.1 - Report on enabling conditions and existing policy instruments that are to, directly or indirectly, promote the development of small farms and a corresponding tailoring of international cooperation and agricultural research for development Highclere Consulting - SALSA D6.2 - Strategic framework for guiding decision-makers in the choice of appropriate support instruments (including the related evaluation and learning arrangements)

Academic and media publications

ARC 2020 - Digitization in Romanian Agriculture – Three Appropriate Solutions (03/2019) Global Food Security - "Small-scale farming and food security – policy perspectives from Eastern Europe" (Pending Review) (09/2019) Global Food Security - "Supporting the role of small farms in the European regional food systems: What role for the science-policy interface?" (Pending review) (09/2019)

Laura Ranca, M.A.

Drd. Laura Ranca is a project coordinator with Tactical Tech’s Exposing the Invisible project. Before joining Tactical Tech in January 2018, she worked for two years as a program specialist with the investigative journalism portfolio of the Independent Journalism Program at Open Society Foundation in London. Prior to that, she was a reporter and researcher with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and with RISE Project – a community of investigative journalists, developers and activists in Romania. At RISE, among others, she coordinated the development of Visual Investigative Scenarios (VIS), a data visualization platform, which assists investigative journalists, activists and researchers in mapping complex organised crime networks. Earlier on, Laura also worked as a public information officer with the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo and as a program coordinator and reporter with the Center for Media, Data and Society at the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary.

Lev Fejes, Ph.D.

Lev holds a doctorate in criminal justice from the School of Criminal Justice within Michigan State University (MSU) and an MA in Nonprofit Organization Management from Babeș-Bolyai University. As the Head of Research at the Association for Community Relations (ARC) he is responsible for coordinating the organization’s research efforts related to philanthropy and corporate social responsibility. He is a founding member of the Initiative for European Democratic Culture (ICDE) think-tank, and a Research Fellow at the Făgaraș Research Institute and Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD). An enthusiast of research methods, at ARC he utilizes his research experience developed at the Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection (A-CAPP) within MSU in designing and implementing studies aimed at furthering the understanding of philanthropic behavior in Romania and at informing decisions with regards to the development needs of Romanian NGOs. In his other capacities, Lev pursues various topics related mainly to urban safety and policing. His area of expertise includes anti-counterfeiting strategies, consumer behavior, corporate social responsibility, philanthropy and public policy. His main academic research interests relate to criminology, product counterfeiting, policing and urban safety. He is also interested in more applied research on the topics of philanthropy and corporate social responsibility and is passionate about turning the world into a better place for each and all.

Ana-Maria Chirila, M.A.

Since the beginning of her career, she has been an active participant in the community while supporting the activity of the Institute and the Țara Făgărașului Community Foundation. She holds a BA in Biotechnical Systems Engineering and an MA in Environmental Engineering.  Ana-Maria considers that community engagement is an important part of one’s life, therefore, it is important that we create and collaborate, as we are sharing life experiences every day. Ana-Maria is passionate about exploring new places and sports, such as endurance biking, swimming, and hiking.
 
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Monica Popescu, Ph.D.

Dr. Monica Popescu is Associate Professor and William Dawson Scholar of African Literatures at McGill University. She is the author of South African Literature Beyond the Cold War (which won the 2012 Gustave O. Arlt Award in the Humanities) and The Politics of Violence in Post-Communist Films, and co-editor of a special issue of the Journal of Postcolonial Writing on Alternative Solidarities: Black Diasporas and Cultural Alliances during the Cold War. She has published articles on postapartheid literature, African culture and the Cold War, postcommunist cultures and nationalism which have appeared in journals like Studies in the Novel, Research in African Literatures, Current Writing, and The Yale Journal of Criticism. She is currently completing a book manuscript on “Postcolonial Cultures, African Literatures, and the Cold War.”

Oana Lup, Ph.D.

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Patrick Mpedzisi

Ștefan Cibian, Ph.D.

Dr. Ștefan Cibian is a member of the Board and the executive director of the Făgăraș Research Institute. Stefan teaches courses related to international relations, international development, international organizations, peacebuilding, and postcolonial Africa at the M.A. in International Development at the Political Science Department, Babeș-Bolyai University, and the M.A. in International Public Affairs at the Political Science Department, University of Bucharest. Previously, Stefan worked as an Academy Fellow at Chatham House – The Royal Institute of International Affairs, Africa Programme, and the Queen Elizabeth II Academy for Leadership in International Affairs, as well as with the World Bank Group, the European Commission, the Association for Community Relations, and Central European University. His research interests include international development, community development, Africa-CEE-EU relations, development policy, international relations theory, democratization and authoritarian regimes, peacebuilding, fragile states, the intersection of research, policy, and practice, higher education policy, and global affairs. Regarding his geographic focus, Stefan is primarily concerned with Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, the Black Sea Region, the European Union, and transatlantic relations. Stefan is an Executive Committee member of the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI) and is a member of the International Studies Association, European International Studies Association, Central and Eastern Europe International Studies Association, and UACES. Stefan is the president of ARCADIA – The Romanian Association for International Cooperation and Development, GRASP, and the Mihai and Maria Frățilă Foundation. He is also a Board Member with the Association for the Practice of Transformation and a member of the Bosch Alumni Network and the Mercator Foundation Turkey Europe Future Forum Alumni Network. Stefan received his Ph.D. in political science and international relations (2012) and his M.A. in public policy (2006) from Central European University. He holds a B.A. in political science (2004) from Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, and a B.A. in law (2005) from the 1st of December 1918 University, Alba Iulia, Romania. Stefan also studied or conducted research at Salzburg University, the University of Ljubljana, and UCLA.
FRI PublicationsExpert CommentsNews and mass-mediaOther publicationsEvents

Disbanding USAID – Stefan Cibian: “Cataclysm for the international development aid system”

Building and strengthening democratic ecosystems in local communities – A small guide

Mapping the mobilization of the Industry for Good® in countering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, at the level of the Cluj-Napoca Metropolitan Area

Effects of COVID-19 on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – article

Transformative leadership for successful crisis management and effective multilateralism – Workshop

Book Launch – The Demographic Dividend and the Power of Youth

Daring New Spaces – Summit on the European Public Sphere

Interview – Daring New Spaces – Summit on the European Public Sphere

Desktop diplomacy: Training for European Diplomats

Brain Drain, Brain Gain and Social Innovation

Global Diplomacy Lab 2020 Summit

AIESEC 26: A Family Reunion

Mercator Winter Forum 2020

World Responsible Leaders Forum, Mexico

Pathways to Power Symposium: New Ways of Deciding and Doing. Taking #Shift the Power to the next level

Turkey – European Union Relations

The Europe of the Post-89ers

Emerging Engagements Between Central & Eastern Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa: Common Interests and Cooperation

The 11th Global Diplomacy Lab – Global Power Shifts: Political and Economic Inclusion for the Next Generation. Collaborating to Realize the Potential of the Demographic Dividend

Antall József Summer School, Budapesta

10th Global Diplomacy Lab – Collaborating to Realize the Potential of the Demographic Dividend in Africa: An Introduction to Ghana and Africa

Lithuanian Development Cooperation: Contribution to the Africa-EU Partnership

Atlas Network’s 2019 Europe Liberty Forum

Europe Think Tank Essentials Training Session, Belgrad

Turkey-Europe Future Forum Alumni Workshop