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Mihai Cucuringu - An educational journey from Bacău to Oxford

Although very young, Mihai Cucuringu is a man with many professional achievements and many academic experiences. In 2003 he graduated Gh A. Murgoci highschool in Brăila. He then went to Hiram College, Ohio, with specialisations in math, computing and economics. In 2012 he completed his PhD at Princeton University in applied and computational math. Then he worked for Bank of America in New York and had a post-doctoral position as Assistant Professor at the Mathematics Department of UCLA. Mihai is currently Associate Professor within the Department of Statistics at Oxford University, with affiliates at the Institute of mathematics of Oxford and the Alan Touring Institute in London.

After high school, Mihai chose to study abroad as a first step in being the master of his own destiny. He considers education outside of Romania to be much more flexible and offering students the opportunity to try out different areas and, at the same time, to deepen those needed for the future. He chose America following the advice from a friend who had gone to study a year before, and Hiram College for offering him an almost full scholarship (the scholarship covered 90% of the school fees).

Now a famous researcher, Mihai nostalgically remembers the period of his studies and the people he met at the time, people who helped him not to feel homesick:

“I've had periods when I've worked extremely hard, but when you do something you really like you don't see it as a difficulty, and you have virtually no time to think that you're so far from home. I was lucky to meet extraordinary people, thanks to whom I felt at home among foreigners.”

If he could travel in time, Mihai would advise the 18-year-old Mihai to discover his passions and strengths as soon as possible and to channel all his energy in that direction.

To the students who want to study at top universities abroad he tells that“work and sacrifice are absolutely necessary to have a successful career. Make the most of your time abroad, both in and outside the university, from a social and cultural point of view.” In his view, students should also take into account the differences between the Romanian and foreign education systems and be open to learn and explore new things, often discovered outside the comfort zone.

He thinks he is lucky because he met teachers who knew how to discover his love and talent for mathematics and research and how to guide him in this direction. Now, a teacher himself, he is trying to do the same for his students. He doesn't teach at a university in Romania and considers that, unfortunately, the education system at home is still an elitist one where the chances for equal opportunities are very low. Mihai insists on the need to make Romanian school curricula more flexible and to shift the focus from quantity to quality, from information to training.“There is a need for a thorough reform of the education system, especially at high school and university level, where access to and promotion of teaching careers must be based solely on merit.”

We are glad and grateful that Mihai is an ambassador for Adoptăm Studenți. Mihai is a supporter of high quality education just as we are.

"Education is the best long-term investment. I am pleased to join this project, which will help to educate future generations."

A text by Corina Pârvu