Meet our graduate Dr. Bolborici, Transilvania University of Brasov, Romania

Dr. Ana Maria Bolborici was among our notable participants during the last summer programme. She has been researching the Middle East region since 1994 as an undergraduate student and wrote her paper on: “The Peace Process in the Middle East –Current Perception”. Her final paper was on: “Ways of peaceful solving of the disputes between states” and this research led to her doctoral thesis: 'The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and the Middle East Peace Process in light of the European Union Diplomacy'. She received her PhD in International Relations from Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

We were delighted that Dr. Bolborici attended the programme as, despite her passion for the region, this was her first visit to Israel. In fact, in March 2016 Dr. Bolborici had published a book regarding European Union Diplomacy and the Middle East Crises at the Beginning of 21st Century, (European Institute Publishing, Iaşi, Romania). After participating in the programme she said “I realise that I became more familiar with the political situation in the Middle East conflict and I want to rewrite some of my scenarios and forecasts of the peace process already published in my book, maybe by writing a new book sooner!”

She describes her experience during the programme as an opportunity that offered her the chance to further explore the roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the current situation: "I studied this region a lot before and during my period of doctoral study but being there helped me to realise, from a deeper perspective, many aspects concerning not just this conflict, which is considered is the most important in the region, but also about the other conflicts deriving from the main conflict.” Dr. Bolborici also loved the idea of being part of a group of people from over 20 countries “I keep in touch with some of my colleagues from GIMI Institute and sometimes we share opinions regarding this complex region of the world.”

We asked Dr. Bolborici what was the main added value she received from our summer programme: “The most important was the effort of GIMI to bring both Arab and Israeli professors to share their knowledge and their experience. We had not only lecturers but also practitioners: persons involved in the peace process; NGOs' which work for peace and reconciliation and people from the Israeli army. All these perspectives offered a comprehensive understanding of the realities in the region together with a lot of study tours”.

Dr. Bolborici concluded by saying: “I hereby recommend the Centre of Middle East and Religious Studies, Galilee International Management Institute, Israel to all who are interested in discovering the region and learning about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. You will surely find a kind team who are not just professionals but also very friendly and help students to be integrated into the course programme.”