Professor of sociology and president emeritus of the University of Oldenburg, Germany. Since 2003 he has served on an advisory mission to the Minister of Higher Education in Afghanistan. From 2000 to 2002, he served as the principal international officer for the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology for the Provisional Self-Government in Kosovo, and in 2002 became special counselor to the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) office in Belgrade. He first started working with UNMIK as head of the Department of Education and Science while he was an international administrator of the University of Prishtina. He served as a German delegate to the Council of Europe Committee on Higher Education and Research in 1994 and on the board of the European University Association from 1998 to 2001.
Experts - sociology
Michael Daxner
Ol’ga Gyárfášová
Senior research fellow and a program director in Institute for Public Affairs, Bratislava, Slovakia. Projects on social and political climate, views on integration and relevant social issues. Member of the executive committee of the Slovak Political Science Association, Member of Board of Trustees of the Foundation SPACE (Social Policy Analysis Center) and of the Institute for Public Affairs. Since 1998 - lecturer at the Department of Political Science, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University. Since 1999 – lecturer at the Center for European Studies, Comenius University.
Joanna Heidtman
She holds PhD and is psychologist and sociologist, assistant professor at Jagiellonian University. She was a visiting scholar at University of South Carolina and Cornell University. Her area of research includes group processes, conflicts and negotiations. As a trainer she focuses on interpersonal communication, creative problem solving and persuasion. She is a member of Society for Trainers and Consultants MATRIK.
Andrzej Kapiszewski
Professor of sociology and political science at the Jagiellonian University, lecturer at the Diplomatic Academy at Warsaw. Former visiting professor at Stanford University and many other foreign universities. Between 1991-1997 in diplomatic service - the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland in the Persian Gulf countries. Author of numerous academic books and articles. Expert in ethnic and national issues, especially in East-West relations and Middle East affairs. He died in Krakow in 2007.
Zdzislaw Mach
Professor in sociology and anthropology at the Jagiellonian University. Founder and head of the Institute for European Studies at the Jagiellonian University, and one of the main authors of the European Studies curriculum in Poland. He has broad international teaching experience from Europe and America. Previous teaching and research appointments include Université Montpellier IIII Paul Valéry, University of Exeter, University College Dublin, University of Chicago, Oxford University, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study, the American Council of Learned Societies, University of Edinburgh and St. John's College, Oxford. His research interests cover identity issues such as nationalism, minorities and ethnicity, the development of European citizenship, migration and the reconstruction of identity, the ethnic origin of a nation and construction of identities as well as the development of the idea of Europe.
Janusz Majcherek
Philosopher, sociologist, journalist. Lecturer at the Pedagogical University of Krakow. He was awarded the Polish Pulitzer-Prize PRESS for the best publicist of the year 1999.
Olga Maksymenko
She is public relations professional and career and life coach, author of LIFE STYLIST project. Holds MA in Sociology from Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University, MA in Political Science from Central European University (Hungary) and Advanced Certificate in PR from Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR, UK). She has extensive experience in public relations, worked for business, NGO sectors and diplomatic representations, including EU Delegation to Ukraine and British Embassy to Ukraine. As a certified life and career coach, she helps recent graduates and young professionals who are already part of the working world to identify the career they desire and deserve and to navigate the transition towards it.
Grigorij Mesežnikov
President of the Institute for Public Affairs (IVO), Bratislava, 1997-1999 Program Director (Building of Democratic Institutions Program) of IVO. 1993-1997 Researcher of the Institute of Political Science, Slovak Academy of Science, Bratislava. 1983-1993 Assistant of Comenius University, Faculty of Art - Faculty of Education, Bratislava. Member of Alliance for Transparency and Fight against Corruption(Advisory Body of Transparency International Slovakia). Chairman of Council of the Central European Institute for Economic and Social Reforms - INEKO, Bratislava.
Tamás Pál
Professor of Sociology, Director of the Institute of Sociology of Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest. Former president of Hungarian Sociological Association, Vice-President of the National UNESCO Commission. Visiting professorships in US, Canadian, UK, German, Austrian, Russian, Ukrainian and other universities. Main interests: political sociology, science policy, sociology of intellectuals, comparative studies on East- and Central Europe.
Attila Z. Papp
Graduated from the Faculty of Sociology, Western University of Timisoara in 1996 and received his Ph.D. in sociology from Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest in 2006. His research areas are minority institutions in education and media, education politics, Hungarian communities in the Carpathian Basin, and education of Roma in Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine. He is editor in chief of the periodical REGIO, and senior research fellow and director of the Budapest-based Institute for Minority Studies, Centre for Social Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
