The research team consists of scholars from several faculties and departments that demonstrate an interdisciplinary expertise addressing complex challenges related to cultural heritage and creative industries. The disciplinary orientations and perspectives of the team include urban ethnology/ anthropology (diversity, tangible and intangible heritage, UNESCO and heritage, urban and industrial heritage, identity, good practices in cultural heritage management), sociology of tourism and consumption, Slovak history and heritage, European histories and cultures in a comparative perspective, literary history, economy (economic aspects of creative industries and creative cities, use of cultural heritage in urban and regional development; impact of globalisation on cultural heritage; cultural heritage and tourism). Interdisciplinary cooperation has been developed between the following departments:

The Department of Social Studies and Ethnology

Department of Public Economics and Regional Development

Department of European Cultural Studies

Department of History

Research and Innovation Centre of the Faculty of Economics

Department of Tourism and Hospitality

The team closely collaborates with other Slovak and foreign research institutes (namely the Institute of Ethnology at the Slovak Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Ethnology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic). In addition, UMB is member of the EU Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) Cultural Heritage.

 

• Assoc. Prof. PhDr. Alexandra Bitusikova, PhD. is Vice-Rector for Research at Matej Bel University and associate professor in social anthropology at the Department of Social Studies and Ethnology, Faculty of Arts. She is Slovak national delegate in the Programme Committee for Socio-Economic Sciences and Humanities – SC6 (H2020, before FP7) and Slovak national delegate in the Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) on Cultural Heritage. She is member of the National Committee for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage at the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic. She coordinated and led the Slovak research team in several European projects (see the project part). In 2002-2008 she worked in the European Commission and in the European University Association in Brussels as a senior adviser. She was a visiting scholar at Cambridge University, UK; University College London, UK; and Boston University, U.S. (Fulbright).

• Ing. Kamila Borsekova, PhD. is Coordinator of Research at Matej Bel University and Head of Research and Innovation Centre at Faculty of Economics. She has extensive project experience.  She was a project and mobility manager of successfully implemented FP7 project FOLPSEC. Currently, she is project manager of a number of international projects and a member of project teams in several domestic and foreign projects. She has authored or co-authored more than 70 scientific articles, chapters and studies, including CC and indexed publications with IF. She is the member of Regional Science Academy and the only university representative in UNESCO Slovak Committee MOST, the member of IAPNM and Slovak Section of RSAI (Regional Science Association International).

• Assoc. Prof. PhDr. Ivan Chorvat, PhD. is a sociologist focusing on the sociology of leisure, family and consumption. He is project manager for Horizon 2020 project PROMISE, which generates new primary empirical research through in-depth qualitative case studies of young people identified, and often stigmatized, in their particular cultural context, as problematic or conflict- prone. It seeks to identify the sites (public, virtual, private) and agents (adults, institutions, peers) of conflict, its consequences, and young people’s responses to it. Through this, the process by which negative emotions and experiences (i.e. conflict, anger, anxiety, and fear) can be transformed into innovation, creativity activity, civic engagement or political activism is revealed and analysed.

• PhDr. Katarina Kostialova, PhD. is an ethnologist at the Department of Social Studies and Ethnology, Faculty of Arts. She focuses on ethnological research of cultural heritage, cultural and social diversity in Slovakia. Her research interest includes also intangible cultural heritage. She is an active member of the Programme Committees of folklore festivals. She is member of the national panel of the Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) on Cultural Heritage. She participated in the project: ETNOFOLK: Preservation and Enhancement of Folk Culture Heritage in Central Europe. She authored or co-authored more than 90 academic articles, chapters and studies, including three books.

• Prof. Ing.  Jana Kucerova, PhD. is full professor in tourism at the Faculty of Economics of Matej Bel University. Her research activities are focused on the regional tourism planning and tourism policy and sustainable tourism development. She is author and co-author of two scientific monographs and more than 90 published research papers in tourism studies. She has been involved into more international projects focused on the curricula development in tourism and creation of tourism development strategies. She is a member of AIEST (Association of International Experts and Scientists in Tourism), ATLAS (Association for Tourism and Leisure Education and Research).

• Assoc. prof. Vanda Marakova, PhD. is associate professor in tourism, presently the Vice-dean for International Relations of the Faculty of Economics. She has more than fifteen years of experience in the research areas of tourism studies. Her main research topics include sustainability and competitiveness in tourism destination, corporate social responsibility in tourism sector, innovations in tourism.  She has authored or co-authored more than 90 scientific articles, chapters and studies, including CC and indexed publications with IF. She is member of ATLAS (Association for Tourism and Leisure Education and Research).

• Assoc. Prof. PhDr. Ludmila Meskova, PhD is Head of the Department of European Cultural Studies, Faculty of Arts. In her current pedagogical and scientific research activities she has been focusing her pedagogic and research activities on culture, intercultural relations in organizations, intercultural differences of negotiations, cross-cultural management, and on terminology, as well as general and professional phraseology. She led national and international projects, received numerous government and non-government scholarships at prestigious French research organizations and universities. She is author of several publications concerning intercultural communication, culture and contrastive phraseology. She is a scientific editor of two domestic journals on foreign languages and cross-culture, member of the editorial board of four foreign journals on languages and cultural studies (Brazil, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Russia). She is member of European Society of Phraseology Europhras and International Network for Terminology TermNet. She is the founder of a French double degree diploma at the Faculty of Economics of UMB. In 2001, the French government awarded her the Knight's Order of Academic Palms for the dissemination of French culture. She gained rector´s Gold Medal award for French and Foreign Relations with France (2014) and Medal for the internationalization of the study (2017).

• PhDr. Ivan Murin, PhD. is a cultural anthropologist and field ethnographer with a scientific interest in generation transmission of culture, heritage studies, collective memory and symbolic communication analyses. He is active in the Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) on Cultural Heritage as a member of Governing Board, since 2017 as a member of Executive Committee.  Within this initiatve he was a co-author of Strategic Research Agenda in intagible culture heritage research. He coordinate and lead the UMB research team in project  RUINS Sustainable re-use, preservation and modern management  of historical ruins in Central Europe  - elaboration of integrated model and guidelines based on the synthesis of the best European experiences. He is a lecturer at the Department of Social Studies and Ethnology, Faculty of Arts and visiting scholar at Charles University in Prague (CZ).

• PhDr. Jana Pecnikova, PhD. specializes in research of cultural identities, European cultural policy, European cultural heritage, and cultural citizenship. She published more than 20 scientific papers in domestic and foreign publications in given topics. At the Department of European Cultural Studies, Faculty of Arts, Matej Bel University she has lectures of French cultural history, citizenship and culture in EU and European cultural institutions. From 2016 she is a scientific coordinator of international project "In Between" in the scheme of European Network Remembrance and Solidarity. She is a member of national research projects (KEGA, VEGA) and international research and educational schemes (APVV, Visegrad fund). She participates in scientific conferences in Slovakia and abroad.

• Assoc. Prof. Ing. Anna Vanova, PhD. is Vice-Dean for Development and the Slovak Representative in Presidium of IAPNM (International Association of Public and Non-profit Marketing), member of Slovak Section of RSAI (Regional Science Association International) member of editorial board of several international journals (inter alia International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Responsibility and Sustainability Journal), member of several scientific committees and academic boards.  Her teaching and research activities are supplemented by the preparing of the content and implementation of international projects for American Express, Open Society Fund Bratislava, the British Know How Fund, the International Institute of Marketing, communications and business; preparation of the content and implementation of training programs for public servants, particularly focusing on strategic marketing planning of territories, marketing communications in the territory and CRM systems in public administration, expert consultancy, lecturing, reviewing, evaluation activities. She is author and a co-author of more than 150 domestic and foreign scientific monographs, textbooks, articles, etc.

• Katarina Vitalisova, PhD. – her research field focuses on the building and maintaining relationships and networks among stakeholders in spatial development. She has experience in preparation and participation in several international projects (FP7, COST, Horizon 2020, IVF, Erasmus +, Central Europe, etc.). She is author or co-author more than 60 scientific papers mainly in foreign journals and publications published by reputable publishers. She is member of Regional Science Association, member of Slovak Section of RSAI.

 

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