PROJECT CONSORTIUM
Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje (UKIM)
Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje is the first and oldest state university in the Republic of North Macedonia, established in 1949 with only three faculties conducting its main activity of tertiary level education, organising undergraduate, graduate and doctoral studies. Today, it is a community of 23 faculties, 5 scientific institutes, 4 public scientific institutions and its associate members. At the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje there are study programs in all scientific fields –mathematical, technical-technological, medical sciences and health, biotechnical, social sciences, humanities and arts. The highest ranked and most popular university in North Macedonia, in particular, can be represented by the following organisation and structural figures: in the teaching-educational process of all faculties are included more than 28,400 students in the first and more than 1,100 students in the second cycle of studies. The third cycle – doctoral studies is realised within the School for doctoral studies at UKIM, with more than 1,000 students. Over 3,100 teaching scientific and associate, as well as administrative staff participate in the realisation of the educational and scientific process at the faculties and institutes. So far, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje participated in more than 72 projects, out of which 16 as project coordinator, 52 as beneficiary and 4 as a third-party entity. Under the Erasmus+ programme, UKIM participated in 12 projects. Under the other relevant programmes, the following distribution is applied: – 27 projects under the FP7, – 24 projects under the H2020, – 6 under the COSME, and – 3 under the UCPM programme. Currently, the organisation takes part in project activities under various programmes such as Erasmus+, EU H2020, the NATO programme, AUF, COST, IAEA, UCPM, IPA and numerous bilateral projects.
Project Team
Mijalche Santa is an Associate Professor at the Department of E-Business and a Vice-Dean for Science and International Cooperation. His main areas of research are enterprise modeling, system analysis and design of information systems, knowledge, learning and innovation. His participation in numerous projects, for example COST Action TD1404 – Network for Evaluation of One Health (NEOH), gives us the necessary foundation. Furthermore, addressing wicked problems, his research activities include papers such as “A one health evaluation framework”. Additionally his continuous communication with our partners grants him the position of contact person regarding this project.
Marina Trpeska is an Associate Professor at the Department of Accounting and Auditing at the Faculty of Economics – Skopje. She coauthored the book Principles of Accounting (2019). She works on numerous scientific and practical projects, participates in conferences, symposiums and workshops in the field, and reviews papers for international journals and conferences. Notably, her distinct project participations as team leader are supported both by the UNDP and by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Her expertise in various economic problems and planning provides us with sustainable project implementation.
Martin Kiselichki is a Teaching and Research Assistant at the Department of E-Business, actively takes part in his doctoral studies in the field of Organizational and Management Sciences. Notably, he’s an author of the e-book “Marketing through social networks” which is published through the New Business Education Foundation. As his academic activity includes both extensive research and working with students, his addition to the team is crucial for project implementation, data analysis and research.
Filip Peovski is a Teaching and Research Assistant at the Chair of Mathematics and Statistics with academic and research involvement in the fields of quantitative sciences, business analytics, applied economics, monetary economics and finance. As part of the initial process of preparing, conducting, and managing the formal project application, assist. Filip Peovski is involved in both management, research and partner coordination in the early phase of the application process. Furthermore, his research activities are proven to be of immense importance and fine addition to our project team through data dissemination, budgeting and provision of applied research.
University of Ioannina (UoI)
The University of Ioannina (UoI) is one of the leading academic, training and research institutions in Greece. Within the University research group, the Department of Economics undertakes theoretical, applied and policy research in the fields of economics and management. The Department has a strong research and publication record in the fields of Micro and Macroeconomics, Energy, Environmental Economics, Industrial Organization, Labor economics, Institutional economics, Development and Public policy. UoI participates in many National and European funded activities and has a proven long-term experience in managing, monitoring, and coordinating research, educational and development projects. UoI implements and coordinates research projects through the UoI Research Committee (UOI-RC) Quality Management System in conformance with the International Management System Standard ISO 9001:2015. The Quality Management System is compliant with the requirements of the Greek Management Efficiency Standard, in the scope of “Project Management of Research and Development of Technological and Other Related Programs and Activities”.
Project Team
Stella Tsani is Assistant Professor at the Department of Economics, University of Ioannina, Greece. She holds a PhD in Economics and Business from the University of Reading, UK. She is one of the 39 new members, first in Greece, selected on the grounds of the excellence of their scientific research and the demonstrated societal engagement that joined the Global Young Academy in June 2022 for a tenure of five years. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Euro-Mediterranean Forum of Institutes of Economic Sciences (FEMISE). Stella is an invited expert member of the foresight group, coordinated by Plan Bleu, on the Mediterranean basin “MED 2050″ project. She is the lead editor of the Handbook of Sustainable Politics and Economics of Natural Resources. Stella has been selected as expert member of the Body of Knowledge as well as start-up mentor and trainer for the Cross-KIC (EIT Food, EIT Manufacturing, EIT Climate, EIT Raw Materials) initiative “Finding innovative solutions for water scarcity in Southern Europe”. She has acted as expert proposal evaluator for the French National Research Agency and reviewer for the IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate. She has more than 10 years of professional experience with multi-sectoral networks across the knowledge triangle and has participated in more than 35 projects funded by national and international bodies (European Commission, World Bank, Bank of Greece, Ministry of the Environment of Cyprus, etc.). Her work applies economic methods and tools at micro- and macro- level to address questions related to sustainable development, policy assessment, sovereign wealth management (Sovereign Wealth Funds), natural resources with focus on renewables, hydrocarbons and water, Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems Nexus, institutions, labour markets, technology innovation, economy energy and environmental modelling and scenario analysis. Her publications appear in leading economics peer reviewed journals and in edited volumes. She contributes to the public dialogue and science communication with publications in the media and with participation in public dissemination events.
Tsioutsios Alexandros is a PhD student at the Economics Department of the University of Ioannina, Greece. His research interests lie mainly in the fields of econometrics, macroeconometric modeling and financial econometrics. Alexandros is currently teaching assistant at the Bachelor Programme (Applied Finance) and at the Master Programme (Financial Econometrics) of the Economics Department of the University of Ioannina. Alexandros holds a M.Sc. in Economics since 2020 (Master Thesis: The econometric specification of volatility models and empirical applications with financial markets data) from the University of Ioannina and a B.A. in Economics since 2017 from the University of Piraeus Greece.
Chrysoula Chitou is a PhD candidate at the Department of Economics, University of Ioannina, Greece. She holds a Master’s degree in Economic Analysis and Policy from the University of Ioannina (2022) and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Ioannina (2020). She is one of the members of the IRDR (Integrated Research on Disaster Risk) Young Scientists Programme. Her research interests mainly focus on the fields of natural resources, economic development, energy economics, and institutional economics. She is also a teaching assistant in the undergraduate program (Introduction to Economics I) at the Department of Economics, University of Ioannina.
Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU)
Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU) is a public university and one of leading educational and research centers for agrarian sector, food, forestry, wood processing, environment and ecology, economics and management, informatics, rural and regional development in the Czech Republic. It consists of six faculties (Agrobiology, Food & Natural Resources; Economics & Management; Engineering; Environmental Sciences; Forestry & Wood Sciences; Tropical AgriSciences) and one institute (Education & Communication). CZU offers bachelor, master and doctoral education for about 18,000 students (incl. about 3,000 international students from more than 100 countries) in various areas of bioeconomy and related sectors. Study programs address the whole agri-food chain, forestry (incl. agri-forestry) with special interest in mountain areas with their value chains, but also leisure activities related to nature (e.g. horse breeding, dog breeding or game management) or rural development. Programs with education in economics and management or cultural studies are in great demand. The university provides also education in information science, ecology and environmental studies, utilization of natural resources, landscape protection and landscape architecture, spatial planning or technologies used in life sciences (agriculture, food and forestry). Research activities of the university target the focus areas of the faculties under the umbrella of bioeconomy. The research areas are concentrated in 3 research pillars reflecting UN Sustainable Development Goals: healthy lifestyles (climate change, value chains, sustainability, cultural landscape, sustainable agriculture), healthy nutrition (agriculture and food production and food safety) and quality of life (nature protection, green technologies, entrepreneurship and rural development).
Project Team
Hynek Roubík is an Associate Professor and a founder of Biogas Research Team and its current Group leader (PI). He deals not only with aspects related to biogas but also with waste management issues in general. Assoc. Prof. Hynek Roubík participated in numerous research and development projects throughout the world as project leader or expert (i.e. Czechia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and others). He does research especially in Waste Management, Environmental and Ecological Engineering and is an editorial board member of several journals. He is author of over 80 peer-reviewed (indexed) research papers. He is also editor or associate editor in several scientific journals. He worked as an expert on demand for several organizations, such as UNDP or European Commission. He is a member of the Research, Development and Innovation Council (R&D&I Council) of Czechia, which is a professional and consultancy body of the Government of the Czechia in the field of research, experimental development and innovation. In addition, he is the second youngest member of Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Bioeconomy platform of Czechia and was appointed as one of the youngest associate professors in the Czechia.
Yelizaveta Chernysh is an Associate Professor and a Member of of Biogas Research Team. Her sphere of scientific interests includes: biotechnologies of waste recycling, with special attention being paid to the pre-treatment and utilization of waste/by-products for bioconversion with the production of bio-based products (biogas, bio-fertilizer, bio-sulfur, etc.), education for European Grean Deals, development of the life-cycle assessment concept towards adaption to climate changes etc. The sphere of her scientific interests also comprises the theoretical and practical aspects of the synergetic concept of nonlinear ecosystems processes, which include the estimation of anthropogenic impact. She previously evaluated the basic stages of anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge and phosphogypsum waste under bio-sulfidogenic conditions and under the effects of ozone pretreatment on the biodegradability of sewage sludge.
Viktoriia Chubur – Member of of Biogas Research Team, is focused on biogas technology implemented in the context of European countries. She has participated in a series of foreign scientific internships, such as Germany, Austria and Czech Republic. She has a significant number of publications, which are indexed by international scientometric data bases (Scopus and Web of Science ), numerous additional materials were also published in international peer-reviewed journals and conference.
Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski (SU)
Founded in 1889 as the first higher educational institution in Bulgaria, Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski (SU) is the leading university in the country with the highest number of Horizon 2020 research projects and the top position in the national ranking system. The Center for World University Rankings recently ranked Sofia University among the top 4.4% of world universities for 2021-2022. It is a comprehensive university with 16 faculties, three departments, more than 30 research centres and institutes, four centres of excellence – in information and communication technologies, cultural heritage, mechatronics and clean technologies. It provides higher education in all areas, including medicine, with the exception of applied sciences. Sofia University has around 20,800 students in undergraduate and graduate programmes. As a de facto research university, it has almost one fifth of all PhD students in the country. The University has a strong international profile with around 1,300 international students and more than 400 bilateral agreements with academic institutions from all over the world. It sets high targets in mobility of students and sends and accepts the highest number of Erasmus exchange students in the country, putting a lot of efforts in trying to overcome the obstacles in carrying out mobilities.
The Faculty of Philosophy is one of the largest research centres in Southeast Europe in the field of social sciences and humanities. The faculty educates over 3000 students from over 20 countries each year in three educational degrees (bachelor, master and doctor) in the following departments: Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, Political science, Cultural studies, Public administration, European Studies, Rhetoric, Library, and Information studies. Research Fields: Social Sciences and Humanities (SOC).
Project Team
Tatyana Dronzina is Professor of Political Science and Doctor of Philosophy. Lecturer at the Department of Political Science, Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski. 2012-2015: Director of Peace and Mediation Institute, Kazakhstan; 2007- present: Visiting Researcher at the University of Granada, Spain; 2005-2006: Visiting Lecturer at Carlos Tercero da Madrid University, Department of Sociology and Political Science, Spain; 2002-2007: Head of the Master’s Program in International Relations and Security Problems, Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, Department of Political Science; Lead of international and national conflict resolution projects, participant in regional peace and conflict resolution initiatives.
Sonya Karabelyova is Professor and Doctor of Psychological Sciences in Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy. Currently she is Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy. She is a member of the Board of the Bulgarian Psychological Society and a member of the European Health Psychology Society (EHPS). She possesses both excellent theoretical background in the field and high expertise as a consultant in the field of diagnosis and screening of problems related to risky health behavior in adolescents and adults, mental health, quality of life improvement and health maintenance in terms of psychological processes developing at the intersection between an individual, health system and society. Prof. Karabelyova is the author and co-author of six monographs, 2 textbooks, 70 studies and articles, 32 reports of participation in scientific and applied conferences, leader and expert in 50 research projects.
Svetoslav Malinov is Doctor of Political Science, Associate Professor of History of Political Ideas at Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski. Academic field and interests: history of political theory, history of state institutions, conservatism, Christian democracy, liberalism, theory of democracy, European Union, political parties.
Yonko Bushnyashki is a researcher at the Faculty of Philosophy of Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski. In charge of international projects coordination of the Faculty. More than 20 years of experience in project management and human resource development in the education and HRD sector. Coordinator of more than 20 EU funded international projects with an extensive project management and implementation experience. Relevant field of experience and qualifications: International Relations, Public Administration, Project Management, Regional Development, SME, NGO and civil sector.
