Northeastern University convened local visiting Fulbright scholars, students, and alumni from more than 50 countries on Friday for a welcome reception at East Village.

In his remarks, President Joseph E. Aoun imparted upon the visiting Fulbrighters the importance of failure in their academic and research pursuits. He explained that failure means taking big risks, and leads to valuable learning experiences. “Fail, fail fast, and start again,” he said. “If you’re not failing, it means you’re not risking, you’re not thinking big.”

Aoun also urged the Fulbrighters to pursue creative, innovative research that questions authority and disrupts their fields of study.

Consuls general from four countries also attended the event: Fionnuala Quinlan, consul general of Ireland; Shahid Ahmed Khan, consul general of Pakistan; Marek Lesniewski-Laas, consul general of Poland; and Julio Nuñez Montesinos, consul general of Spain.

Northeastern is an institutional member of the Fulbright Association, and hosts the annual event in collaboration with the Massachusetts Chapter of the Fulbright, WorldBoston, and the International Center of Worcester. The consuls general and leaders from the host institutions joined Aoun in welcoming the Fulbrighters, congratulating them on their accomplishments, and wishing them future success.