The team

We are a group of more than 50 academics and professionals mostly based in Oxford who share an enthusiasm for contributing to community development, wherever we are.

Having been fortunate enough to access life-changing opportunities to study and work in competitive environments, we would like to do the same for our younger peers. Our strategy is to provide students with eye-opening learning experiences, and to inspire them to lead by example.

In 2017 we registered the Oxford for Romania charity in the UK. We are organised in a Board of Trustees and working groups led by volunteers.

Our community will continue to provide advice and support for the summer school alumni.

We also plan further activities that will create genuine learning experiences for educational communities in Romania.

Board of Trustees

Ciprian Ploștinar

Co-founder, Fundraising volunteer, Tutor (Physics)

Ciprian is an Oxford alumnus, having obtained his DPhil in Particle Physics. He is currently a senior scientist at the European Spallation Source, contributing to the construction of the most powerful particle accelerator in the world. He takes part in a number of educational and science outreach projects, both in Romania and the UK, with a focus on inspiring and creating opportunities for young people.

Oana Romocea

PR leader, Fundraising volunteer, Student group leader

Oana was responsible for PR and Communications at the Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford for nine years. Now she is using her experience to involve in various cultural, social and educational projects in Romania, like the first Timisoara Science Fair (now the Romanian Science Festival) and the Hategan Foundation.

Măriuca Morariu

Communications leader, Programme co-leader, Volunteer - Fundraising, Tutor (Debates and critical thinking)

Măriuca is Executive Director of Aspire Teachers, an NGO aiming to bring an excellent teacher in front of every child in Romania. She coordinated award-winning educational programmes for organisations in Romania like ARDOR, Junior Achievement, and the UK, like Encounter EDU, a social enterprise bringing the real world into the classroom through technology. She has a MSc in European Communication Studies from the University of Amsterdam and delivered training and workshops for thousands of young people and teachers on argumentation, critical thinking, media literacy and career orientation.

Maria Suciu

Admissions leader, Programme co-leader, Logistics volunteer, Tutor (Genetics)

Maria is a postdoctoral scientist at a biotech startup Genomic plc, a spin-out company from the University of Oxford focused on using genetics to inform drug discovery. She has a DPhil in genomic medicine and statistics from the University of Oxford. Her teaching experience includes tutoring undergraduate and graduate students on both theoretical and practical topics.

Alma Iatan

Community Hackathon leader, Programme co-leader, Tutor (Career and personal development)

Alma works in technology and helps companies take smart data-driven decisions to grow their business. The vision is is simple: she's trying to design a world where companies innovate to put people first. Prior to technology, Alma worked in corporate banking in London and Hong Kong and has an MBA degree from INSEAD Business School.

Cristian Șoitu

Admissions co-lead, Tutor (Applied ethics)

Cristi is studying for a DPhil in Bioengineering at the University of Oxford. His research aims to develop technology that will allow biologists to significantly reduce the waste and costs of their experiments. A big believer in interdisciplinarity, he combines physics, biology, and programming in his work and dancing, football and squash in his spare time.

Sorina Câmpean

Volunteer leader, Facilitator (Socratic seminar)

Sorina is currently leading on networks and partnerships for the Entrepreneurship Centre at Saïd Business School. Previously, she served as Leadership Programmes Director for the Aspen Institute Romania, working on building purpose-driven communities through educational programmes for business and civic leaders in the region. Sorina holds a MRes in Political and Social Sciences at Pompeu Fabra University. She is also a Global Shaper with the World Economic Forum.

Oana Lang

Admissions co-leader, Logistics volunteer

Oana is currently studying for a PhD in Mathematics within the Mathematics of Planet Earth Centre for Doctoral Training at Imperial College London. Her research focuses on the analysis of certain stochastic partial differential equations with applications in weather and climate issues. Working also as a graduate teaching assistant at Imperial College, Oana is highly motivated by the interaction with younger students and the transformative experience this interaction can lead to.

Victor Diaconu

Admissions co-lead, Tutor (Photography)

Victor is an art-documentary photographer who graduated from the Arts University Bournemouth and is currently based in Oxford. His interest in urban development and the clash between heritage and modernization has led him to projects looking deep into the fabric of the cities, in locations such as Spain, Romania, Poland, France and the United States. Victor has had solo exhibitions in Romania and England and was awarded a CEC Artslink Residency at Columbia College Chicago in 2014. A firm believer in the power of analogue photography, his favourite smell is that of a newly opened film canister.

Ambassadors

Aura Woodward

Fundraising and strategy consultant

In the past 15 years, Aura worked directly with HRH Prince Charles - in the past five years, she was an Executive Director of the The Prince of Wales's Foundation in Romania. Before that, she was Director of the International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture, and Urbanism (INTBAU) which developed traditional constructions and crafts to conserve the authenticity of rural communities in the South of Transylvania. Aura holds a Bachelor degree in Law from the Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj. She graduated from the BBC School of Journalism as valedictorian, working more than eight years afterwards as a journalist for the BBC World Service. Now Aura is a strategy consultant for two charities with impact in Romania, and OFR is proud to be one of them.

Advisors

Monica Enescu

Co-founder, former Board Member and Tutor (Medical Imaging and Data Science)

Monica is currently working as Research Scientist at Mirada Medical, a company providing medical imaging solutions for cancer care. In 2015, she completed a DPhil in Medical Imaging at the University of Oxford. She also holds an MSc in Biomedical Engineering from the same university. Monica has extensive experience in education, having previously taught both at the University of Oxford and at a number of summer schools. Her area of expertise covers Computer Science, Medical imaging, Numerical methods and C++.

Cristian Roman

Former Board Member, Logistics leader, Tutor (Robotics / Artificial Intelligence)

Cristian is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oxford. His areas of interest are digital health, robotics, and the use of artificial intelligence to help patients with chronic conditions. Cristian has also been an associate lecturer for undergraduate modules related to Python and C/C++.

Sandor Kruk

Co-founder, former Board Member and Logistics leader, Tutor (Astrophysics)

Sandor is a Research Fellow at the European Space Agency in the Netherlands, having obtained his PhD in Astrophysics at the University of Oxford. Member of the Royal Astronomical Society, he is involved in numerous outreach projects in both Romania and the UK. He coordinated the British Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad and led the UK team to the international stages of the Olympiad.

Andra Necula

Former Board Member, Admissions lead and Tutor (Biology)

Andra is working as Chief Scientist Officer for New Age Meats, a California-based startup aiming to change the future of food through cellular agriculture. She pursued her her DPhil in Immunology at the University of Oxford, after having studied Molecular Biology at the University of York. She was involved in Aspire Romania, an educational NGO for remarkable young people worldwide, where she provided students and young professionals with career guidance, and self-development opportunities.

Adina Brădeanu

Former Board Member, Admissions & Communications volunteer, Tutor (Documentary film)

Adina is Research Associate at the Linguistics Faculty of the University of Oxford, where she works on a project which combines linguistic research and Digital Humanities (ISTROX). She is also the Subject Consultant for Romanian Studies at the Taylor Institution Library (Bodleian Libraries, Oxford). In the recent years, she has researched a historical film studio archive in Bucharest and curated a long-term digitisation and outreach project which opened heritage audio-visual material to contemporary scholars and audiences (VINTAGE SAHIA). Between 2013 and 2018, Adina co-programmed “One World Romania”, a festival of documentary cinema and human rights in Bucharest.

Pro-bono professionals and academics (2019)

Ana Hastoy

Logistics volunteer, Tutor (Linguistics)

Ana studied French and Spanish at Oxford and during her degree she discovered linguistics. She then went on to do a DPhil in Linguistics and was a stipendiary lecturer at Christ Church College, Oxford University. She now works with school-age pupils before they go to university, particularly with pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, offering advice and guidance about higher education and Oxford.

Cristian Ciorîia

Data Protection Officer and Logistics volunteer

Cristi is currently working as a Junior Data Scientist in London. He has a BSc degree in Physics with Theoretical Physics from Imperial College London. He is passionate about all things theoretical physics and using machine learning methods to improve sports performance. In his free time he enjoys doing olympic weightlifting and learning Linux.

Alexandra Roxana Popa

Community Hackathon mentor, Tutor (Career and personal development)

Alexandra is a serial entrepreneur, startup mentor and coach, with experience in retail, e-commerce and education. She worked for Amazon UK in London and has an MBA degree from INSEAD Business School, in France and Singapore. Alexandra is passionate about continuous development and growth, both professionally and personally. She is a strong believer that a positive impact at a large scale is created by a collective work of becoming better versions of ourselves.

Mihai Daraban

Logistics and Photo volunteer

Mihai is a Southampton Solent dropout currently working in the construction industry, building homes while pursuing the entrepreneurial dream. He is passionate about photography, extreme sports and helping others.

David Manda

Logistics volunteer

David studies Computer Science at Bristol University and is an OFR alumnus from 2017. Motivated by his own experience at the summer school, he decided to join the cause as a volunteer. He is passionate about working with data and developing algorithms to extract insights from complex data sets. In his free time he plays volleyball for the university team and enjoys reading about productivity and science.

Alina Militaru

Finance officer, Admissions volunteer

Alina is currently working in Oxford as a tax advisor, specialised in international tax. She holds a degree in Finance from the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest. She has extensive experience in tax and finance, having previously worked for a UK charity that implements worldwide programmes helping people manage and source natural resources sustainably.

Cristina Mărculescu

Admissions volunteer

Cristina is currently a senior scientist at one of the biotechnology companies around Oxford, working on the development of novel anti-cancer therapies. She completed her PhD in Chemical Biology and Organic Synthesis at University College London in 2013 and prior to that she studied Chemical Engineering at Politehnica Bucharest. She enjoys being in the lab the most but has a strong interest in teaching, which she still does in her spare time.

Alina Dolea

Tutor (Personal branding)

Alina is Senior Lecturer at Bournemouth University, UK. She holds a PhD in Communication Sciences from SNSPA Bucharest and her research themes include public diplomacy, and strategic communication (nation branding, public relations). She was Fulbright Senior Scholar 2015-2016 at Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California and SCIEX Visiting Scholar 2015 at the University of Fribourg. She co-founded and currently serves as elected Chair of the first Public Diplomacy Interest Group within the International Communication Association, where she is also a Board member.

Elissa Manda

Logistics volunteer

Elissa is a final year medical student at Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest. She is interested in studying autoimmune diseases and developing better treatment methods for these diseases. One of her greatest passions is education so she was keen to volunteer for OFR along with her brother, David, who is a 2016 alumnus of the summer school. In her free time she likes to paint in nature and read biographical literature.

Radu Cîmpeanu

Admissions volunteer, Tutor (Applied Maths)

Radu is a research fellow in Applied Mathematics at the Mathematical Institute of the University of Oxford. He will be appointed assistant professor at the Warwick Mathematics Institute starting September 2019. Radu completed his MSc, PhD degree and post-doc position at Imperial College London (Applied Maths and Mathematical Physics), after having obtained his BSc degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from Jacobs University Bremen. His main interests lie in modelling real-life systems, with his work spanning fluid mechanics, acoustics, medical imaging, and operational management. He is passionate about teaching and science communication. Keen hiker, jogger and skier when left outdoors, Radu also enjoys the occasional puzzle and a good pun.

Oana Gurău

Tutor (Neurosciences), Logistics volunteer

Oana is studying for a DPhil in Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Oxford, focusing on the interaction between emotion and memory in patients with neurological disorders. She holds a BSc in Neuroscience from Jacobs University Bremen and an MSc by Research in Psychiatry from the University of Oxford. She is passionate about karate, tennis, dancing and dogs. Her teaching experience involves several practical Psychology undergraduate courses at the University of Oxford and organising science conferences for high school students across the UK.

Iulia Pop

Student Liaison volunteer

Iulia works as an Events Manager for Annie Sloan Interiors where she organises events across England and also internationally, most recently in New York and Toronto. She holds a degree in Events Management from University of Gloucestershire. Iulia is passionate about events styling, photography and yoga. She is currently taking steps towards a more sustainable, eco-friendly lifestyle and working on applying the same principles to the events she organises.

Ovidiu Pătrășcanu

Logistics volunteer

Ovidiu is caring for people suffering with dementia at Iffley Residential and Nursing Home and has been living and working in Oxford since moving from Romania in 2015. He graduated from the University of Bucharest in 1997 with an Associate's Degree in Business Administration and from Galati Nursing High School in 1989 with a Nursing Certificate. Ovidiu is a keen traveller (he has visited 43 countries so far) and a monthly commuter to Romania. He loves books, music, movies, theatre and field tennis. And more importantly, he is a real people person!

Claudia Cîrlig

London trip coordinator

Claudia is the founder and theatre producer for Tales Told in Romanian, a project which promotes Romanian theatre and playwrighting in London. An Oxford resident, she is also working as a marketing and communications consultant for different art centers and social enterprises in Oxfordshire.

Norbert Zicher

Tutor (Astrophysics)

Norbert is a PhD student in Astrophysics at the University of Oxford. He works on Extrasolar Planets, specifically on improving detection methods, modelling stellar activity and characterisation of the planets. He is an outreach officer for the Physics Department and is involved in multiple projects, including the British Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad.

Ioana Baetica Morpurgo

Tutor (Creative Writing)

Ioana is a UK-based Romanian writer and researcher with studies in letters at the University of Bucharest, and cultural anthropology at the National School of Political and Administrative Sciences (SNSPA Bucharest). At Exeter University she conducted research on the culture of transition in postcommunist societies and taught a seminar on Contemporary Societies. Ioana published numerous articles on literary and socio-cultural topics in national and international magazines, as well as short prose, essays and novels like The Immigrants (KulturKontakt Austria prize for Eastern European prose), The Record Slip (nominated for the Romania Literara Prize for literary debut) or Shrapnel (shortlisted for the Nepotul lui Thoreau literary prize). Excerpts of her prose were translated in six languages. She is currently working on her fourth novel exploring issues of identity, migration, and representations of women in Eastern Europe.

Radu Tătucu

Tutor (Gorvernments)

Radu is a financial sector specialist with the World Bank’s Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation Global Practice, East Asia and Pacific. He also worked for Amazon as Senior Pan-EU Vendor Manager and in fintech consultancy. Radu is the co-founder and former president of GRASP, a non-profit organization of Romanian young professionals from around the world. He has a BA with high honors in Economics from Harvard College, a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government and an MBA from London Business School and the National University of Singapore Business School.

Elena-Andreea Teleagă

Tutor (Photography)

Andreea is a visual artist working mainly with photography, collage and installations that reflect on contemporary socio-political issues. She studied photography at the University of Sunderland (first class with honours) and has a Masters in Fine Art Media at Slade School of Fine Art (with distinction), supported by a scholarship from the Lee Alexander McQueen Sarabande Foundation.

Pro-bono professionals and academics (2016-2018)

Eliza Casapopol

Logistics Leader, Facilitator (Studying in the UK)

Eliza is working as an Artificial Intelligence Engineer at MIcompany, after having graduated in Mathematics at the University of Oxford. She was the president of the Oxford Maths Society and the Oxford University Romanian Society. A passionate STEM Ambassador, she also co-founded and raised funds for the Romanian Science Week (now Science Festival) and is actively involved in outreach events to inspire and promote sciences for the general public.

Maria Dana Pop

Logistics volunteer

Maria works as Project Controller within the Schoolbooks Design Team at Oxford University Press, and has been based in Oxford since moving from Romania in 2013. She graduated from Oxford Brookes in 2015, obtaining a BA (Hons) International Business Management. Maria is a keen amateur photographer and lover of nature, exercise and cooking.

Corina Gurău

Logistics volunteer, Tutor (Robotics)

Corina is a researcher at Wayve, a self driving car startup based in Cambridge. Previously she has obtained her DPhil at the Oxford Robotics Institute, working on software that allows robots to better understand their surroundings. She holds a BSc in Computer Science from Jacobs University Bremen in Germany. In 2018 she was a teaching assistant for a free intensive summer program in Ethiopia introducing high school students to programming and algorithms.

Iulia Popescu

Fundraising and Admissions volunteer

Iulia is a research associate at the University of Oxford in the area of biomedical image analysis. She has a DPhil in Cardiac MRI Image Analysis at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oxford. Her research focuses on developing patient specific software assessment tools for cardiovascular medicine. Her area of expertise is in numerical methods and programming for image and data analysis.

Alexandra Năstase

Programme volunteer, Tutor (Working with Governments)

Alexandra is a Senior Public Sector Governance at Oxford Policy Management, working with governments from Europe, South Asia and East Africa to deliver better policy outcomes for their citizens. She has extensive experience in international development, after working with organisations such as the World Bank, United Nations and civil society organisations. She co-founded and managed a think-tank in international public affairs and collaborated with NGOs as a public policy researcher covering Southeast Europe. Alexandra holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from University of Oxford.

Adrian Gheorghe

Programme volunteer, Tutor (Working with Governments)

Adrian is a health economist with Oxford Policy Management, working on value for money in the health sector governance in Eastern Europe, Central and South-East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. In his previous role as a research fellow at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine he worked on economic evaluation and economic burden of disease studies, health information systems and the Lancet Commission on the future of health in sub-Saharan Africa. He completed his Masters and PhD studies in health economics at the University of Birmingham. In Romania, he is a co-founder of the health services research think tank the Romanian Health Observatory.

Răzvan Marinescu

Logistics and volunteers, Tutor (Computer graphics)

Razvan is now a Postdoctoral Researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, having obtained a PhD in Medical Imaging at UCL, and a MEng in Computer Science at Imperial College. He is working on machine learning applications to healthcare. Razvan has been involved with teaching several programming and modelling courses, and has been a student residence adviser at UCL for three years. He is also the organiser of a competition for predicting the onset and the evolution of Alzheimer's disease.

Vlad Mărgărint

Tutor (Maths), Talent show coordinator

Vlad is a DPhil student in Mathematics at the University of Oxford, having obtained his MA from ETH Zurich and BA from the University of Bucharest. He has been a Teaching Assistant at both ETH Zurich and the University of Oxford, giving tutorials in various topics in Mathematical Analysis.

Cosmina Dorobanțu

Logistics volunteer, Tutor (Data Science in Public Policy)

Cosmina is a Policy Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute, where she works with policy makers and academics to improve the design and provision of public services with the help of data science and AI. She co-founded Aurora Energy Research, a company with 50+ employees, which provides price forecasts and analytics covering British, European, and global energy markets. She also spent five years at Google, shaping the company’s investment and business strategy in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Academically, her expertise lies in international economics and statistics, having obtained her DPhil in Economics from the University of Oxford. She is also an Independent Expert for the European Commission.

Bayar Menzat

Logistics Volunteer, Tutor (Intro to Neuroscience)

Bayar Menzat is a neuroscientist at Akrivia Health, a company specialised in data science on mental health and dementia aimed to accelerate research for better treatments and care. He obtained his PhD in Computational Neuroscience from the University of Oxford, where he used computer simulations to understand how plasticity shapes reward- and punishment-based learning in the brain of the fruit fly.

Alexandra Tomescu

Admissions and logistics volunteer

Alexandra is an Oxford alumna, with a DPhil in Condensed Matter Physics (Biophysics) and a MBiochem in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry. She is working in educational publishing where she brings together her love of science and her passion for education to help create student and teacher materials for schools all around the world.

Eliza Silvia Galoș

Tutor (Civic engagement)

Eliza is currently working as a specialist on human trafficking data in countries in crisis at the headquarters of IOM, the UN Migration Agency. An Oxford alumna with an MSc in Migration Studies, Eliza co-founded the charity Work Rights Centre (WoRC), which offers free support to Romanian and other EU migrants in England who are trapped in precarious work. She has also worked in local government, academia and various NGOs in the UK on issues related to socio-economic inclusion of vulnerable individuals and irregular migration.

Cristina Golomoz

Tutor (Civic culture and politics)

With a background in politics and law, Cristina is working as a strategy consultant in London. She has a PhD from the University of Oxford, where she analysed legal and political responses to ownership disputes involving museum objects in post-colonial and post-war contexts. Previously, she studied at the University of Cambridge (MPhil in Social Anthropology), the London School of Economics (MSc in Politics and Law), and University of Bucharest (BA in Politics).