The Făgăraș Research Club brings together members interested in research and in getting to know better one’s community.
The Club offers training sessions in research, policy analysis, advocacy, and related activities. The Club aims to generate impact in the local community through research and civic engagement. The Club members benefit from advanced training in research, including understanding key science- and research-related concepts; qualitative and quantitative research methods; history research methods; policy research; academic writing and writing for wider audiences; writing, editing, and publishing research papers, and organizing dissemination events.
The Club aims to also develop an evidence-based civic engagement model, based on research skills and training.
The Făgăraș Research Club was established through the project Research is cool & useful, financed by the Civic Innovation Fund, a program developed by the Civil Society Development Foundation, in partnership with the Romanian-American Foundation, supported by Enel Romania and Ursus Breweries (www.inovarecivica.fdsc.ro).
How can you join?
To join the Făgăraș Research Club, we invite you to fill in this form:
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Team
Anamaria Csutak
Andreea Maierean Ph.D.
Andrei Băniceru
Andrei Morar
Andrei Stupu
David Sofonea
Carmen Greab M.A.
Georgi Georgiev, Ph.D.
Edi Beserman
Gabriel Pîrlogeanu, Ph.D. Candidate/Doctorand
Ianis Rușitoru, M.Sc.
Ioana Alexandra Frîncu
Ioana Hașu-Georgiev M.A.
Ioana Onea, M.A. Candidate
Laura Vișan, Ph.D.
Lev Fejes, Ph.D.
Lutz Drieling, M.A.
Ana-Maria Chirila, M.A.
Maria Năstase, M.A.
Mihai Leaha, Ph.D.
Oana Lup, Ph.D.
Paul Sofonea
Alexandra Florea M.Sc.
Sergiu Mihailescu
Silvia Fierăscu, Ph.D.
Ștefan Cibian, Ph.D.
Ștefania Pică, M.A. Candidate
Thomas Melchior
Victor Porancia, M.A.
Anamaria Csutak
Anamaria is a student at “Doamna Stanca” National High School studying social sciences. She is a volunteer involved in several programs and associations such as Youthbank, ACUM (the Children of the Magic Universe Association), Transomt, Fagaras Research Institute, and she volunteered within several events such as Bikeathon, Fagaras Rocks, Resistance Fagaras, Tara Fagarasului Community Gala, etc.
She is involved in Media Lab and wants to pursue an acting career, having theater as a hobby for several years and having performed countless plays on stage.
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Andreea Maierean Ph.D.
Dr. Andreea Maierean is currently an Assistant Professor of Political Science and the Study Abroad Director at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science in 2013 from Boston University and she previously studied in Bucharest, Romania, at the National School of Political Studies and Public Administration; in Trieste, Italy, at the University of Trieste; in Budapest, Hungary, at Central European University and in Vienna, Austria, at the Institute for Human Sciences. Her research and teaching interests broadly include post-communist transitions to democracy, transitional justice, and environmental policy.
Andrei Băniceru
Andrei is a student at “Doamna Stanca” National College in Făgăraș, he likes learning, sport, adventuring and volunteering.
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Andrei Morar
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Andrei Stupu
Andrei Stupu is an entrepreneur in the field of education. He created a series of programs entitled Ziua Mintzii. With an experience of over seven years in the NGO sector, ranging from volunteer to Board member, Andrei focuses constantly on improving educational programs and training methods and activities. At the same time, he produced and presented two TV shows on education-related topics.
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David Sofonea
David is a student at “Doamna Stanca” National High School in Făgăraș, currently in the 11th grade. Over the past two years, he has been involved in various extracurricular activities, focusing on community engagement, education, and personal development.
Since October 2023, he has been part of YouthBank, helping organize local events and participating in discussions with international YouthBank groups. He has also attended courses through FCTF (Community Foundation Țara Făgărașului), including a facilitator training. As a volunteer, he contributed to Bikeathon 2024 and took part in first aid training.
David is a member of the CNDS Debate Club and the Young Researchers Club (YRC), where he explores academic writing. Through eTwinning projects, he has worked on topics related to history and environmental sustainability.
Additionally, he participated in Story Lab and Media Lab, learning about digital documentation and media literacy. His experience at Schulbrücke Lübeck introduced him to international discussions on education and development. Since October 2024, he has also been taking piano lessons and is part of the Mentorship GRASP Milano program.
David remains engaged in various activities, always looking for opportunities to learn and contribute.
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Carmen Greab M.A.
Carmen Greab is a Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science at Babeș-Bolyai University and a researcher at the Făgăraș Research Institute. Carmen is also the executive director of the Center for the Study of Democracy and associated lecturer at BBU’s Department of Political Science. Recently she started her activity as CSR specialist with E.ON.
Her research interest revolves around education and, more specifically, around the impact of education on acquiring civic skills and democratic values. Carmen contributed to research projects in this area, focusing on adults, students, and even kindergarten kids.
Another research interest is related to good governance, in particular aspects connected to local governance or experiments that enhance citizen engagement in decision-making processes. She participated actively in the first participative budgeting experiment in Cluj-Napoca.
Since 2007 she is also associated with the Kettering Foundation from Dayton, OH, USA. As a consequence of that collaboration, Carmen became interested in the principles and practices of deliberative democracy with a focus on deliberative teaching. She took part in the development of support materials aimed at facilitating the use of deliberative teaching.
Research topics: Education, Transition and Democratization, Processes of Deliberative Democracy, Good Governance, Civil Society, Migration and Development.
Georgi Georgiev, Ph.D.
Georgi Georgiev is a doctoral candidate in comparative history at the Central European University, Budapest (CEU). He was a Visiting Predoctoral Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Research Group “Epistemes of Modern Acoustics” (October-November 2018). He completed an MA in Central European history at CEU. Georgi’s research experience includes extensive study of the Radio Free Europe archival collections hosted by the Blinken Open Society Archives in Budapest. Georgi’s PhD project focuses on methods of information gathering during the Cold War, with a special emphasis on acoustic information gathering and noise as an object of research. His work explores the intersection between science, technology, and politics.
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Edi Beserman
Sociologist, Ph.D. Candidate in sociology at the Institute for Research on Quality of Life of the Romanian Academy with research on "Changing social values: individualization and religiosity in Central and Eastern Europe". Graduate of the Petroșani Faculty of Sciences, sociology specialization, of a master's in advanced sociological research at the University of Bucharest, and with experience in market research. Member of the Valea Jiului Implicată Coalition, where I initiated and coordinated the "Podcast Implicat" project.
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Gabriel Pîrlogeanu, Ph.D. Candidate/Doctorand
Alexandra Peca is pursuing her masters in Diplomatic Techniques at the Faculty of History, University of Bucharest University. Alexandra is also the Erasmus+ projects coordinator for GEYC Bucharest and was engaged in several international programs, that defined her personal and professional development path. Alexandra graduated from the Faculty of History of Bucharest University, specializing in international relations and European studies. Alexandra has a passion for history since junior high and believes strongly that the voce of youth can drive the change that is needed in society.
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Ianis Rușitoru, M.Sc.
Ianis Rușitoru is a student of Digital Media at the Faculty of Political Sciences, Philosophy, and Communication Sciences of the West University in Timișoara. He is passionate about quantitative research, R programming, and network analysis. He wants to pursue a career in Data Science as he is passionate about research topics such as Deep Learning, Big Data, and Organizational Network Analysis.
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Ioana Alexandra Frîncu
Ioana joined the Young Researchers Club at the end of the 10th grade, being a student at "St. Constantine Brâncoveanu" Orthodox Theological High School in Făgăraș. She is involved in various community projects, but when she is not dividing her time between organizations, events and projects, she is passionate about music, reading and crocheting, having various hobbies for which she seems to have no time.
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Ioana Hașu-Georgiev M.A.
Ioana Hașu-Georgiev is interested in Romania’s recent past, researching aspects related to the armed anti-communist resistance. She holds an M.A. from the Central European University (2015) and is an accredited independent researcher at the National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives (2011). She explores in her research the less known aspects of the anti-communist struggle, such as the role of women in the resistance, postmemory and trans-generational trauma, traumatic amnesia, the relation between forgetting, remembering, and healing.
In 2012 she created an interactive workshop for children, Grandparents’ Times, focusing on the early communist period and repression. The workshop is offered in schools, high schools, and camps. In 2018 she launched an exposition at the Țara Făgărașului Museum entitled The Women in the Resistance, invisible actors of the anti-communist struggle.
In the last 10 years, Ioana gave public lectures and participated in conferences organized by the Institute for the Investigation of Crimes committed by the Communist Regime.
Ioana has over 15 years of experience in mass-media, among others, working for BBC Romania and Radio France Internationale.
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Ioana Onea, M.A. Candidate
Ioana graduated from Loughborough University in 2023 with First Class Honours in Social Sciences and Humanities. Since then, she worked in a top communications agency, became a volunteer for the Ambulance for Monuments, worked on various research projects within FRI, and discovered her passion for cultural heritage. She is an aspiring wood conservator-restorer looking forward to enrolling in a Wood Restoration & Eco-design Master’s this summer.
Her interests as well as areas of expertise include: sociology, anthropology, gender studies, identities and inequalities, race & racism, climate justice & sustainability, photography (both digital and analogue), culture, and heritage.
Laura Vișan, Ph.D.
Laura Visan is an adjunct faculty member of the Department of Arts, Culture and Media (ACM) at the University of Toronto Scarborough and has a Ph.D. in communication from York University and Ryerson University in Toronto. She researched the process of social capital formation through civic participation and networking in the case of Romanian immigrants from Toronto. Having grown up in Romania, Laura has also written about the popular culture artefacts of the Nicolae Ceauşescu era, with a focus on the 1970s and 1980s. She has taught at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton and at York University in Toronto.
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“Recuperate, Recycle, Reuse: Adaptive Solutions for the Socialist Architecture of Bucharest”. In Lisa B. W. Drummond and Douglas Young (Eds.), Socialist and Post-Socialist Urbanisms. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2020; pp. 168-184
“Political Engagement through Civic Transnationalism: Romanian Diasporas and the 2014 Presidential Elections”, in Reading Sociology: Canadian Perspectives, Third Edition. Oxford University Press, 2017
“Reading Cutezatorii and Watching Jackie Chan – Romanian Children and the Communist Propaganda (1970s and 1980s). Medialni Studia (Media Studies), Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University Prague, II 2013, Pp. 212-228. Available online at: http://medialnistudia.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/6_laura-visan.pdf
“(Dis)Connected: Romanian Canadians in Cyberspace”. Romanian Journal of Communication, Romanian Journal of Communication and Public Relations. Pp. 113-127. Vol. 15 No. 1 (29). April 2013. ISSN 1454-8100.
Available online at: http://journalofcommunication.ro/29/visan_29.pdf
“Creating Social Capital Resources: A Case Study of Romanian Immigrants in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area”. Working Papers series no. 93 / 2012, CERIS, the Centre of Excellence for Research on Immigration and Settlement; available online at: http://www.ceris.metropolis.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/WP93_Visan.pdf
Romanian Immigrants Go to Church” – Illumine – The Journal of the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society at the University of Victoria, 2012; vol 11, no. 1. Available online at: http://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/Illumine/issue/view/763/showToc
“Partially Color– Rethinking Exterior and Interior Spaces in Communist Romania” – Anthropology of Eastern Europe Review, Vol. 29, No 2 / Fall 2011, 51-66; available online at: http://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/aeer/
“Houses that Cry: Online Civic Participation in Post-Communist Romania” – McMaster Journal of Communication, Vol. 7, Issue 1, 2011; available online at: http://digitalcommons.mcmaster.ca/mjc/vol7/iss1/3/
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.
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Lutz Drieling, M.A.
Lutz Drieling has finished his master's degree in International Public Affairs at the University of Bucharest. He previously obtained a Bachelor's degree in Sustainable Social Policy from Sankt Augustin, Germany, where his academic focus revolved around the examination of inequality, unequal opportunities, social injustices, and the implementation of the Agenda 2030. Throughout his master's program, Lutz expanded his academic horizons to encompass the international realm, particularly concentrating on postcolonialism, climate change, and power relations.
Motivated by an unwavering curiosity, Lutz's intellectual pursuits transcend the boundaries of politics and social issues. He demonstrates a keen interest in the arts, culture, history, and the natural sciences. As an ardent universalist, Lutz endeavors to seek solutions that extend beyond his specific areas of expertise, drawing upon his diverse experiences across various disciplines.
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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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Maria Năstase, M.A.
Maria Năstase works as a documentary videographer and researcher. She experiments with digital artistic practices as a medium for knowledge production and distribution. Her projects integrate interactive technologies to create alternative means for visual research methodologies within social sciences. She was awarded an MA in Ethnographic Filmmaking at the Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology at the University of Manchester and holds a master’s in Interactive Technologies for Performative and Media Arts at CINETic in Bucharest
Mihai Leaha, Ph.D.
Mihai Leaha is a Romanian audio-visual researcher, anthropologist, filmmaker and educator, based in Brazil. He writes articles and makes documentary films about societies that he studies and people with whom he interacts. He is currently doing a post-doctorate at the University of São Paulo, researching the local, DIY electronic music scene. As a member of the CVA (Commission for Visual Anthropology), CEVA (Center on Visual and Anthropological Education) and other organizations, he has a long-term involvement with curating, promoting and programming ethnographic films at various conferences or festival events. Mihai taught visual anthropology in Cluj-Napoca and São Paulo, and organized conferences and workshops on visual and multimodal anthropology in Romania, Brazil and Peru.
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Oana Lup, Ph.D.
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Paul Sofonea
Born in Vienna in 2003, Paul graduated from “Doamna Stanca” College in Făgăraș in 2021 with exceptional results. After completing his military service in the Guard Battalion, he continued his studies at TU Vienna, where he is currently pursuing a degree in Architecture. Since 2024, he has been working as a tutor at TU Wien, teaching arts and perspectival drawing. Additionally, he has been active as a freelance artist for over six years.
Together with Austrian artist Univ.Prof.in Mag.a art. Christine Hohenbüchler and Austrian architect, artist, and author Univ.Lektor Dipl.-Ing. Milan Mijalkovic, he co-coordinates the upcoming master's course "Reuniune" at the Faculty of Architecture at TU Vienna. This course is organized in cooperation with the Făgăraș Research Institute.
Since January 2025, he has also been working as a research assistant for the Media Lab at the Făgăraș Research Institute. Additionally, he collaborates with the Institute and stone restorer Dr. Sidonia Olea on a research project exploring the Jewish history and cemeteries of southern Transylvania.
Alexandra Florea M.Sc.
Alexandra Florea M.Sc. Candidate. Data all-rounder. Interdisciplinary social scientist, policy analyst, and digital citizen. A KU Leuven and DAAD alumna, Alexandra is a Ph.D. Candidate at Goethe University Frankfurt where she is engaging with a range of quantitative (experimental), qualitative (autoethnography), and mixed (text-to-data, SNA, netnography, rhythm analysis) research methods in analyzing the interplay between digital and analog (micro-)social phenomena.
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Sergiu Mihailescu
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Silvia Fierăscu, Ph.D.
Dr. Silvia Fierăscu has a PhD in Comparative Politics and Network Science from Central European University. Her research focuses primarily on quality of governance, political-business relations, and statistical analyses of network data. Silvia is involved in various interdisciplinary projects, translating complex problems into real-time applications for organizational management, political communication, and better governance.
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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.
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Central & Eastern Europe and EU-Africa Relations after 2020 (Chatham House Research Paper, 2020)
Central and Eastern Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa: Prospects for Sustained Re-engagement (Chatham House Research Paper, 2017)
Analyzing the European Development Fund: An English School Account of How Presumed Statehood Undermines (Development in) Sub-Saharan Africa (Ph.D. Thesis, Central European University, 2012)
Ștefania Pică, M.A. Candidate
Stefania is a second year student at University College Utrecht in the Netherlands. She is following courses in political science, international law and history, with a plan to complete an interdepartmental degree in social sciences and humanities. Her interests stems from community work done during high school that shaped her passion for understanding the governence of a state in the complex context in which it finds itself. Through a Liberal Arts and Sciences education, Stefania develops an activist spirit, teamwork and adaptable to vast academic fields.In her free time, she volunteers in the international student organization AIESEC in Utrecht as a part-time member with the position of National Program Manager in Outgoing Global Volunteer.
She graduated from National College Radu Negru in Făgăraș, during which she activated as a member of the YouthBank Făgăraș team for three years, as a volunteer of the Ţara Făgăraș Community Foundation and a volunteer at most events organized in the community (Bikeathonul Tării Făgărașului, 11even, Artfestin, Urlea Eco Trail etc.) learning organizational and social skills. In 2018 she was a fellow of the grant "Journalist for good deeds", in which she wrote and published four articles on civic initiatives in the area of Făgăraș County. Stefania is interested in people and their stories, in nature conservation and in promoting education on current topics, of interest and usefulness.
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Ia Călătoare, support for children and hope for traditions (Ia Călătoare, sprijinul copiilor și speranța tradițiilor), in Romanian.
Link: https://fundatiactf.ro/iia-calatoare-sprijinul-copiilor-si-speranta-traditiilor/
A lesson of the present: About mountains and change (O parabolă a prezentului - despre munți și schimbare), in Romanian.
Link: https://fundatiactf.ro/o-parabola-a-prezentului-despre-munti-si-schimbare/
Research, the art to develop a community (Cercetarea, arta de a dezvolta o comunitate), in Romanian.
Link: https://fundatiactf.ro/cercetarea-arta-de-a-dezvolta-o-comunitate/
When disempowerment is no longer an option, what happens? (Când nu mai „merge și așa”, cum merge?), in Romanian.
Link: https://fundatiactf.ro/cand-nu-mai-merge-si-asa-cum-merge/
Thomas Melchior
Thomas is a dedicated student at “Doamna Stanca” National High School in Fagaras;. He is passionate about active involvement in the local community. He participates in innovative projects through Fagaras Research Institute, such as Media Lab, trying to learn useful research skills early on. Through volunteering, he supports local initiatives and cultural events, thus demonstrating a strong civic spirit and a desire to bring positive change in society.
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Victor Porancia, M.A.
Victor Porancia holds a degree in Climatology and Water Resources from the Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest. He is passionate about various subjects such as climate change, atmospheric risk phenomena, and remote sensing. He received an Erasmus scholarship to study in Belgium, where he focused on the more technical side of geography as a natural science. A nature lover, Victor is one of the founding members of the Tara Fagarasului Sports Club, an association that organizes sports activities aiming to engage the local community in developing an active and healthy life.
