ASEF Podcast (SLO): Meet the fellows – Lana and Adrian on work and life at Stanford [Episode #43]
Welcome back to Meet the Fellows, the ASEF Podcast vertical hosted by Martin Jurkovič, 2024 ASEF Fellow. In this episode, Martin sits down with two rising Slovene researchers, Lana Nastja Anžur and Adrian Mladenić Grobelnik, to unpack their ASEF-supported summer at Stanford University. From interdisciplinary cultural-heritage science to cutting-edge commonsense AI, they share candid reflections on applying for ASEF, securing visas and housing, adapting to California life, and forging international collaborations.
If you’re interested in a research internship in the U.S. or are simply curious about cross-cultural academic exchange, this conversation will provide you with practical insights and inspiring stories.
🎧 Listen now and discover how ASEF empowered two Slovene scholars to shine on the global stage.
Topics Covered:
Presentation of Guests: academic paths, current roles, and their friendship
ASEF Visit: discovery, motivation, application process, visa & housing tips, expectations vs. reality
Research at Stanford: mentors (Prof. Jure Leskovec, Dr. Saša Čaval), projects, lab environments, comparison with Slovenia
Life in California: cultural shocks (self-driving shuttles, palm-pay), Bay Area campus living, Slovenian community connections
ASEF Tutoring: program overview, collaborative project, outcome as a scientific article
Reflections on Exchange: local Slovene community impact, academic & personal growth, benefits for Slovenia & the U.S.
Advice for Future Fellows: last-mile tips for ASEF scholars in the U.S.
About the Guests:
Lana Nastja Anžur
Lana is a second-year PhD candidate in Environmental Protection and a researcher at the Laboratory for Cultural Heritage Science, University of Ljubljana. With prior studies in archaeology, law, and a specialist diploma in economics, management & digital technologies for heritage from Venice International University, she investigates sustainable management of cultural heritage through interdisciplinary valorization. Since 2021, she has contributed to Mauritian archaeology projects at Stanford and studied climate-change impacts on Balkan heritage sites. Under the guidance of Dr. Saša Čaval at the Institute for Social Science Research and Stanford Archaeology Center, Lana’s work bridges science and heritage preservation. In her spare time, she loves diving and walking her dog.
Adrian Mladenić Grobelnik
Adrian is a junior researcher and AI engineer at the Jožef Stefan Institute, completing his dual bachelor’s in Computer Science & Mathematics at the University of Ljubljana. Specializing in natural language processing and commonsense AI, he has authored six peer-reviewed papers and completed a research internship at Carnegie Mellon University on AI in healthcare. Eager to expand into graph-based machine learning, he visited Prof. Jure Leskovec at Stanford this summer. Passionate about applying AI to societal challenges, Adrian strives to turn theoretical innovation into practical solutions.