Research & Studies
24-25 August, 2026
9730 Kőszeg, Chernel str. 14. (Europe House 2nd Floor, Bibó Room)
Initiated by participants and students of our 31st International Summer University, iASK is happy to announce a follow-up seminar to discuss further intriguing, interdependent, intertwined and complex issues such as old and new traumas and identities in East and Central Europe, the newcharactereistics of theIndustrial Military Complex and the militarization of Europe, and energy crises combined with increasing emergy dependence in the context of unstobbele technological progress and the promisis and threats of AI.
Monday, 24 August, 2026
10:00 – 12:30 Keynote speaker: 10:00 – 12:30 Keynote speaker: Ferenc Jordán (Institute of Biological Research): Socio-ecological adaptation to the unpredictable (15-20 min.)
Tom Beer: Risk management under uncertainty
Hunor Mohácsi: EU energy dependence, shortage of critical raw materials, the EU’s reliance on imports, and related bilateral agreements. (10 min.)
Discussion
Lunch break
14:00-16:30 Keynote speaker: Jody Jensen (iASK): The Great Disruption: When Climate and Economic Crises Collide—A World of Resistance or a Global Awakening? (15-20 min.)
Discussion
Tuesday, 25 August, 2026
9:00 – 12:00 Keynote speaker: Veronika Wittmann (University of Linz, iASK): “Development and Peace: Europe Between Hard Power and Soft Power” (15-20 min.)
Veronika Luca Kovács: Local connections in late state-socialist Central Europe and the Yugoslav region. (10 min.)
Melinda Széky: The concept of a common European army, strategic autonomy, shortcomings of the European defence industry, and dependence on U.S. technology. (10 min.)
Discussion
13:00-15:30 Keynote speaker: Balázs Barta (iASK): Ethical considerations of AI in social applications – through the example of human-robot interface (15-20 min.)
Feyrouz Ahlam Saidi (iASK): Small Towns and Regional Development: Challenges, Opportunities and Strategies (10 min.)
Comments, discussion:
Students and their topics:
BIOs:
Izabella Agárdi (iASK, Hungary)
Izabella Agárdi is a historian and holds a Ph.D. from Utrecht University. Her research interests are oral history, gender studies, rural women’s history, contemporary historiography and literary theory. She focuses on the intersections of personal and public narratives, practices of periodization and tropes of narrating 20th-century history in Central Europe. She is the author of the book On the Verge of History: Women’s History Telling in Central Europe after the 20th Century, Ibidem, 2022.
Balázs Barta (Pannon Business Network; iASK, Hungary)
Balázs Barta graduated from the Budapest University of Economics and further pursued management studies in the United States (Wharton, UPenn) and France (INSEAD). He earned his PhD at the University of Sopron, Institute of Engineering and Manufacturing Sciences. After nearly a decade of leadership experience at multinational corporations, he founded PBN in 2006, focusing on applied research and development. Within PBN, the Digital Innovation Hub emphasizes manufacturing digitalization and multidisciplinary research on humanoid robots for social purposes.
Tom Beer (Safe System Solutions, Australia)
Dr Tom Beer AO is an international expert on environmental risk, including climate variability, climate change, greenhouse gas and air quality issues and particularly their application to transport and fuels.
He has had a long and distinguished scientific and consulting career that included numerous scientific honours and awards including the Adam Hilger Prize, the CSIRO Chairman’s medal, and a special certificate of appreciation from the IPCC upon their award of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. In 2022 he was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to science.
János Bogárdi (iASK, Ludovika University of Public Service, Hungary, University of Bonn, Germany)
János Bogárdi is a senior fellow at the Centre for Development Research at the University of Bonn, Germany since 2012, senior scientific advisor Institute of Advanced Studies Kőszeg, Hungary since 2017, and research professor at the National University of the Public Service, since 2023. He held positions in research and consulting in Europe and Africa (1969-1985). He is a former associate professor for water resources management at the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok (1985-1988) and full professor Wageningen Agricultural University, the Netherlands (1989-1995), the Section Chief at UNESCO International Hydrology Programme in Paris (1995-2003), and the founding director of the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security and Vice Rector in Europe (2003-2009).
Jody Jensen (iASK, Hungary)
Dr. Jensen is the Director of Transdisciplinary Research and Collaboration at iASK. She is a senior research fellow at the Institute of Political Sciences at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. She was the Director of the International Studies MA Program at the University of Pannonia Koszeg Campus and awarded a Jean Monet Chair in European Solidarity and Social Cohesion (ESSCO). She is the Director of International Relations at the Institute of Social and European Studies (a Jean Monet Centre of Excellence) which she helped to found. She served as the national and regional director of Ashoka: Innovations for the Public that supports social entrepreneurs. She teaches frequently abroad and also works for the European Commission. Her areas of research are prefigurative and subterranean politics, new social and political movements, particularly in East and Central Europe and the Balkans; looking at the conjunction of the social and natural sciences in the study of complexity as it translates to social phenomena and change.
Ferenc Jordán (Institute of Biological Research, Hungary)
Ferenc Jordán, D.Sc. is a biologist and leading expert in network and systems ecology. His research focuses on biological networks, including food webs, habitat networks and animal social networks, with particular emphasis on identifying key species and understanding complex ecological systems. He holds a PhD in genetics from Eötvös Loránd University and has conducted research internationally, including at Microsoft Research–COSBI in Trento and the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. He is a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and has received several prestigious research awards.
Zsolt Tibor Kosztyán (iASK, Hungary)
Throughout his career, Professor Kosztyán has combined academic research with institutional leadership. He served as Head of the Department of Quantitative Methods at the University of Pannonia (2015–2024) and as Senior Research Fellow at the MTA-PE Budapest Ranking Research Group (2017–2022). His research focuses on project planning and management, matrix-based project planning methods, agile project methodologies, risk-based control charts, economic and social network analysis, and higher education rankings and student mobility. Professor Kosztyán holds dual PhD degrees: in Management and Business Administration (2006) and in Informatics (2011), both with summa cum laude distinction. He completed his habilitation in 2014. Notable scientometric achievements: cumulative impact factor of 237.808, 357 publications, 738 citations (513 independent). Among his 69 international journal articles, 25 are ranked D1 and 21 are ranked Q1. His research has been published in leading journals including Expert Systems with Applications, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Knowledge-Based Systems, Computers and Industrial Engineering, Scientometrics, Journal of Informetrics, and Nature Scientific Data.
Szabolcs Márka (iASK, Hungary; Columbia University, USA)
Szabolcs Márka holds the ‘Walter O. LeCroy Jr. Professor’ chair of Physics at Columbia University. He is an experimental physicist and serial inventor with broad interdisciplinary expertise, currently interested in biophysics and astrophysics. He is a co-discoverer of cosmic gravitational waves and a pioneer of multimessenger astrophysics. His work integrates gravitational waves, high-energy neutrinos, and gamma rays into a unified framework for exploring the universe. Beyond fundamental discovery, he believes scientists have a responsibility to improve human life on Earth. He is committed to applying scientific creativity to help people live happier, healthier, and longer lives and believes that science, art, and exploration together make life worth living.
Zsuzsanna Márka (iASK, Hungary; Columbia University, USA)
Dr. Zsuzsa Márka is an astrophysicist at Columbia University. She is a co-recipient of several prizes, including the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, for the first direct detection of gravitational waves. She built the timing-distribution hardware for multiple ground-based detectors, initiated new directions in multimessenger astrophysics, and is developing novel machine-learning-based approaches to efficient signal detection. Dr. Márka is a proponent of open data, open software, and open hardware, and of providing research opportunities to students of all ages and backgrounds. Dr. Márka believes that educating young minds for the beauty and value of scientific endeavors is key to long-term progress in science.
Ferenc Miszlivetz (iASK, Hungary)
Dr. Miszlivetz is the Founder and Director of the Institute of Advanced Studies Kőszeg (iASK), a Jean Monnet Professor and Full Professor at the University of Pannonia. He has taught and conducted research at various universities in Europe and the United States, including the University of Bologna, and Columbia University in New York. He is the Founder and Director of the board of the Institute for Social and European Studies Foundation (a Jean Monnet European Centre of Excellence). He has served as the President of the Social Sciences unit of the Hungarian UNESCO Committee and holds a UNESCO Chair in Cultural Heritage and Sustainability in Kőszeg. He has received numerous awards, including the Knight’s Cross of the Hungarian Republic.
Szabolcs Morvay (iASK, Hungary)
Dr. Szabolcs Morvay is a research fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies Kőszeg (iASK) and an assistant professor at Széchenyi István University, in Győr. He holds a PhD in regional science and his work focuses on culture-led and creative urban development, regional development, and regional economics in Central and Eastern Europe. His publications include the co-authored monograph Culture-led urban development: Creative city initiatives in Central and Eastern Europe (MCC Press, 2023) and lot of articles in Regional Statistics, DETUROPE, Területi Statisztika, and Tér és Társadalom journals. His current research examines the regional role, development opportunities, and positioning of small towns in city hierarchy. He engaged closely with practice through strategic urban-regional projects (e.g., Győr’s ECOC – European Capital of Culture – bid and “Creative Strategy” of Győr) and represents iASK internationally as an active member of ResiliEnhance, an italy-based expert platform on regional resilience. His recognitions include an iASK research fellowship in 2023.
Tamás Novák (iASK, Hungary)
Tamás Novák is currently the Head of International Relations of the Institute of Advanced Studies Kőszeg (iASK). He is also actively engaged in fostering and strengthening the international collaboration of Hungarian higher education, a mission he considers of paramount importance. From 2018 until August 2025, he served as Science and Technology Diplomat at the Hungarian Consulate General in New York. Prior to this, he held several leadership positions at the Budapest Business School, including Chair of International Business, and also served as a research fellow at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.In 2013–2014, he spent a year at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C., as a research fellow of the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation.Tamás holds an MSc in Economics and a PhD in International Relations from Corvinus University of Budapest.
Feyrouz Ahlam Saidi (iASK, Hungary)
Feyrouz Ahlam Saidi is a researcher specializing in urban and social studies, regional planning, and sustainable development. She earned her Ph.D. in Social Geography and Regional Development from the University of Debrecen in April 2025. She continued as a short-term researcher contributing to projects on small towns. Her work focuses on urban transformation, the role of small and medium-sized cities, global production networks, and sustainable spatial planning. She has published widely and presented at international conferences on emerging urban trends, regional development, and sustainability. She is currently a research fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies (iASK) in Kőszeg, focusing on urban development and regional innovation.
Ivana Stepanović (iASK, Hungary)
Dr. Stepanović is a permanent research fellow at iASK and lecturer at the University of Pannonia, Kőszeg Campus. She is the Academic Coordinator of the UNESCO Chair for Culture Heritage Management and Sustainability in Hungary. She holds a PhD in Anthropology from the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, an MA in Human Rights South-East Europe from University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and University of Bologna. Her teaching and research activities focus on social media research, reconciliation in former Yugoslavia, online activism, and the impact of artificial intelligence on societies.
József Fülöp (iASK, Hungary)
He is the former rector of Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, as well as being a university professor and programme leader on the animation training programmes. He is also a visual communication designer, illustrator, animated film director and producer. He has been a teacher at Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design since 2001 and since 2005 he has been the head of the animation. He is the author of the BA and MA training programmes in Hungary. Since 2010 he has been the head of the animation department, which he also founded, and since 2014 he has been the rector of MOME.
Veronika Wittmann (Johannes Kepler University, Austria)
Associate Professor of Global Studies at the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Johannes Kepler University Linz (JKU), Austria. She was a PhD Programme fellow of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and Junior Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences (2000–2001), and a Research Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Ibero-American Studies, Hamburg (2006). She worked for UNDP in Ecuador (2002) and conducted extensive field research across Africa. She received her venia legendi in Sociology at JKU (2013). In 2023, she co-chaired the EU Science Diplomacy Working Group on EU’s global science diplomacy outreach. Her research spans Science Diplomacy, Sustainability, Global Politics, World Society, and Cultural Studies.