News at 4Cs

Cape Cod Community College’s Bridget Burger Receives Fulbright Specialist Award to Iceland

The U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board have announced that Bridget Burger, Director of the Cape Cod Regional STEM Network and STEM Starter Academy at Cape Cod Community College, has received a Fulbright Specialist Program award. Burger will complete a project at the Husavik Academic Center in Iceland that aims to exchange knowledge and establish partnerships benefiting participants, institutions, and communities both in the U.S. and overseas through a variety of educational and training activities within STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education.  

“I am honored to receive this Fulbright award to launch STEM Husavik, a regional STEM Network in Northeast Iceland,” Burger said. “This Fulbright project will connect Husavik educators, students, scientists, businesses, and organizations and equip them with best practices, resources, and opportunities in STEM education. Later this year the Husavik and Cape Cod STEM Networks will engage in collaborative projects focused on the Blue Economy and other sustainability and ocean science issues that both regions are facing. This project will build a bridge between our institutions and our communities and can inspire new solutions to the complex problems we face. It is my hope that my efforts will empower members of both networks to create a bright future through STEM.” 

Burger is one of more than 400 U.S. citizens who share expertise with host institutions abroad through the Fulbright Specialist Program each year. Recipients of Fulbright Specialist awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, demonstrated leadership in their field, and their potential to foster long-term cooperation between institutions in the U.S. and abroad.  

“Bridget makes an immense, positive impact on our College students and K-12 students we work with leading the Cape Cod Regional STEM Network and STEM Starter Academy,” said John Cox, President of Cape Cod Community College. “We are thrilled that she has been recognized as a leader in her field by the Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.  She’ll represent the College and our Nation well, sharing her expertise in STEM education and student engagement.  Our students across the region will benefit from the knowledge she returns with.” 

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to build lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program, which operates in over 160 countries worldwide.  

Since its establishment in 1946, the Fulbright Program has given more than 400,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, and scientists the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.  

Fulbright recipients address critical global issues in all disciplines, while building relationships, knowledge, and leadership in support of the long-term interests of the United States. Fulbright alumni have achieved distinction in many fields, including 60 who have been awarded the Nobel Prize, 88 who have received Pulitzer Prizes, and 39 who have served as a head of state or government.  

For further information about the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State, please visit http://eca.state.gov/fulbright or contact the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Press Office by telephone 202-632-6452 or e-mail [email protected].