Five Fulbright Alumni Selected To Advance Solutions That Promote Responsible, Ethical, And Economically Sustainable Artificial Intelligence
NEW YORK, October 21, 2026 — The Institute of International Education (IIE) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2026/27 IIE Centennial Fellowship, which recognizes Fulbright alumni whose work is advancing the responsible development and use of super intelligence/artificial intelligence.
Created in 2019 to commemorate IIE’s centennial year, the Fellowship enhances the Fulbright Program as a lifelong experience and supports alumni who are applying their expertise to address pressing global challenges. The 2026/27 Fellowship theme, “Advancing Responsible AI: From Framework to Deployment,” focuses on the critical next step in the evolution of AI: translating responsible AI principles into practice across the lifecycle of systems, from design and development to deployment and commercialization.
This year’s cohort includes four IIE Centennial Fellows, who will each receive a $25,000 award, and one IIE New Leader Award recipient, a recent Fulbright alum who will receive $15,000. Together, they represent multiple disciplines, sectors, and regions united by a commitment to ensuring AI technologies are developed and deployed in ways that benefit society.
The 2026/27 Centennial Fellowship focuses on the transition from responsible AI principles to practical implementation. Fellows’ projects address critical questions related to governance, accountability, workforce development, commercialization, public trust, and long-term societal impact.
Artificial intelligence—or superintelligence—is reshaping economies, workplaces, and communities around the world, making the question of how we develop and deploy these technologies increasingly consequential. Through the Centennial Fellowship, IIE is proud to support Fulbright alumni who are bringing global perspectives, technical expertise, and ethical leadership to one of the defining challenges of our time. Their work demonstrates how international education and exchange prepare leaders to transform innovative ideas into meaningful impact.”
Jason Czyz, President and CEO, IIE
By supporting leaders working at the intersection of technology, policy, education, business, and community engagement, the Fellowship recognizes that responsible AI requires collaboration across sectors, disciplines, and borders.
The Fellowship also reflects IIE’s longstanding commitment to expanding opportunity through international education and exchange. For more than a century, IIE has connected students, scholars, and professionals with opportunities to learn, collaborate, and lead globally. Through programs such as Fulbright, IIE helps develop leaders who apply global perspectives to solve local and global challenges alike.
Meet the 2026/27 IIE Centennial Fellowship Cohort
Dr. Angoua Jean Jacques Tano
Fulbright Visiting Scholar to the U.S., 2024-25
Project: Responsible AI for deaf education in Côte d’Ivoire: Building an Ethical Langue des Signes de Côte d’Ivoire (LSCI) Dataset and Accessible Learning Tools
This project aims to build an ethical, open multimodal dataset for the Langue des Signes de Côte d’Ivoire (LSCI) and develop accessible digital learning tools for deaf learners and teachers. The project embeds Responsible AI principles through transparent dataset documentation, participatory governance with Deaf associations, accessible informed consent procedures, and strong data protection measures.
Craig Goergen
Fulbright U.S. Scholar to France, 2021-22
Project: Automatic Segmentation of Cardiovascular Medical Image Data Using Deep Learning in the U.S.
This project develops AI tools that automate the analysis of high-frequency ultrasound cardiac imaging to enable faster, more accurate, and more reproducible assessment of heart function. Responsible AI principles are integrated throughout the project via transparent model development, independent validation, bias assessment, rigorous documentation, expert human oversight, and physiologically interpretable outputs grounded in metrics such as myocardial strain and hemodynamic forces. By focusing on ultrasound, a widely available and cost-effective imaging technology, the project promotes scalable and equitable access to advanced diagnostic capabilities that can improve human health and expand economic opportunity across a range of healthcare settings.
Ritah Kiconco
Fulbright Foreign Student to the U.S., 2020-21
Project: Scaling the AmFine Digital Patient Portal: Advancing Responsible, Patient-Centered AI-Supported HIV Care in Uganda
The AmFine project will scale a locally developed digital patient portal designed to strengthen communication, continuity of care, and patient engagement in HIV services in Uganda. The project will integrate transparent, explainable, rule-based AI-supported features for appointment adherence, follow-up prioritization, and tailored health education while maintaining human oversight, data security, accountability, and patient-centered design. By combining responsible AI with a platform developed around the realities of a resource-limited health system, the project aims to demonstrate a practical and scalable approach to improving HIV care while protecting patient trust and safety
Takesure Tozooneyi
Fulbright Foreign Student to the U.S., 2020-21
Project: Designing and Piloting a Responsible AI Governance Framework for Agricultural Advisory Systems in Zimbabwe
This project responds to the growing use of AI-powered advisory tools that support smallholder farmers across Sub-Saharan Africa. While these technologies can improve agricultural productivity and resilience, they can also weaken accountability where governance safeguards are lacking.
IIE New Leader Award Recipient: Ngoc Tuyen Tran
Fulbright Visiting Scholar to the U.S., 2023-24
Project: Operationalizing Responsible AI: A Human-Centric Digital Twin Ecosystem for Construction Safety in Vietnam
This project builds an AR/VR safety system that tells a construction worker not only that a hazard has been detected, but why. For transparency, Model Cards will be published, setting out what data the system was trained on and where it fails, and every warning carries a visual explanation in the worker’s own field of view. For accountability, the work will run under-informed consent protocols and an institutional ethics review, and the system is formally defined as a protective shield, not a productivity-monitoring tool.
About the IIE Centennial Fellowship
Established during IIE’s centennial year, the IIE Centennial Fellowship recognizes alumni whose work embodies the Fulbright Program’s ideals of international peace, innovation, and scientific advancement. The Fellowship supports action-oriented projects designed to generate measurable outcomes and positive outcomes in communities around the world.
To learn more about the IIE Centennial Fellowship, visit: https://www.iie.org/programs/iie-centennial-fellowship/.
About IIE
The Institute of International Education (IIE) is the leader in designing and implementing international education strategies and program services. We work with governments, policymakers, educators, and employers across the globe to prepare students and professionals for the global workforce and equip them to solve the increasingly complex challenges facing our interconnected world. With support from donors, we also create initiatives that assist students, scholars, and artists whose lives and work are threatened; expand teaching and learning across cultures; and provide life-changing opportunities. A not-for-profit organization founded in 1919, IIE has a network of offices and affiliates worldwide and over 1,600 higher education partners. Visit www.iie.org.