AGÁRDI, IZABELLA: Izabella Agárdi is a historian and researcher at the Institute of Advanced Studies Kőszeg (iASK). She earned her PhD from Utrecht University. Her research areas include 20th-century Central and Eastern European social and cultural history, women’s history, oral history, the intersections of memory and history, historiography, and literary theory.
BALÁZSY, PÉTER: Head of the Local Government Office of Vas County.
BALÓDI, LÁSZLÓ: László Balódi is the Mayor of Nemeshodos and the President of the Association of Villages and Towns of Csallóköz, Slovakia.
BELČÁKOVÁ, INGRID: Ingrid Belčáková is the head of the UNESCO Chair on Sustainable Development and Environmental Awareness at the Technical University in Zvolen, Slovakia. She has been involved in landscape planning and management since 1994 as a lecturer, practitioner and researcher.
BINDER, KÁROLY: Károly Binder is a pianist, composer, and university professor who heads the Jazz Department at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music and is a former researcher at iASK. He has performed in numerous international and domestic concerts and composed over 300 pieces. His work has been honored with several awards, including the Erkel Ferenc Award and the Artisjus Lifetime Achievement Award.
BODA, DEZSŐ: Dezső Boda is a former researcher at iASK, professor at the University of Pannonia (PE) in the Faculty of Engineering, at the Center for Natural Sciences, and head of the “Complex Molecular Systems” research group. His inclination toward multidisciplinarity and his desire to understand the world beyond physics led him to iASK, where he began to study complexity as a common denominator across diverse systems, from nature to society.
BROOKS, DANIEL R: Daniel R. Brooks is a former researcher at iASK and a Professor Emeritus of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto. His research areas include biodiversity, systematics, and conservation biology. His current focus is integrating evolutionary principles into understanding emerging diseases and using these insights to develop proactive measures for coping with the emerging disease crisis. He is a member of the Royal Society of Canada and the Linnean Society of London.
DE LOMBAERDE, PHILIPPE: Philippe De Lombaerde is the Director of the United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS). His research areas include regional economic integration and international trade.
ELLER, GIZELLA: Mayor ofKimle.
FEJÉRDY, TAMÁS: Tamás Fejérdy is affiliated with the Institute of Advanced Studies Kőszeg (iASK) and the UNESCO Chair at Kőszeg. He is an award-winning architect and heritage conservation engineer, honored with the ICOMOS Piero Gazzola Prize. From 1976 to 2013, he worked at Hungary’s central institution for heritage protection. He served as the Chair of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in 2002/2003.
FILEP, BÁLINT: Bálint Filep is the President of Széchenyi István University and an associate professor at the Department of Regional Science and Rural Development. He is also a member of the editorial board of the Comitatus Municipal Review. He earned his PhD in the analysis of regional and urban competitiveness.
FÖLDVÁRY, TERÉZIA: Mayor of Sárosfa, Slovakia.
FÜLÖP, BENCE: Bence Fülöp is a former research fellow at iASK, a certified civil engineer specializing in the management and changes of regional environmental and hydrological systems. He is the CEO of Trinity Enviro Ltd. and the Institute of Applied Water Science.
GELENCSÉR, ANDRÁS: Academician Gelencsér is an atmospheric chemist, professor at the Institute of Environmental Science at the University of Pannonia, and head of the MTA-PE Air Chemistry Research Group. Until June 2024, rector of the University of Pannonia. His primary research area is the study of atmospheric aerosol particles, focusing on their properties, sources, and atmospheric transformations.
GRIMAZ, STEFANO: Stefano Grimaz is a senior researcher at the University of Udine and the Director of the Interdisciplinary Security and Protection Laboratory (SPRINT-Lab) at the Department of Engineering and Architecture. His research focuses on safety management, with a particular emphasis on seismic risks, occupational safety, and environmental protection. He is currently the scientific coordinator of the technical-scientific committee established by the Italian Ministry of the Interior to ensure the safety of emergency interventions. As a UNESCO advisor, he initiated ResiliEnhance, an East and Central European network of UNESCO Chairs.
GUTOWSKI, ROBERT: Miklós Ybl Prize-winning architect, full member of the Hungarian Academy of Arts. He is the architectural designer of several buildings (Szemző-House, Festetics Palace, Benedict Hotel) that were renewed during the Kőszeg-Kraft programme.
HANKÓ, BALÁZS: Minister for Culture and Innovation, Ministry of Culture and Innovation of Hungary.
HELLMUTH KRAMBERGER, ANJA: Anja Hellmuth Kramberger is an archaeologist, a researcher and assistant professor of humanities at Alma Mater Europaea University (Maribor) and an associate professor at the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. Her research areas include the Bronze and Iron Ages, as well as the history of the ancient Near East.
JAKOBI, ÁKOS: former lead researcher of the iASK Kraft Research Group. Ákos Jakobi is an associate professor with habilitation at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, and the head of the Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences’ Center for Geographical Sciences. He is also an associate professor in the Department of Regional Science.
JELINČIČ, DANIELA ANGELINA: former iASK researcher. Daniela Angelina Jelinčič has been working as an expert at the International Institute of Gastronomy, Culture, Arts and Tourism (IGCAT) since 2016. She is the lead research advisor at the Department of Culture and Communication at the Institute for International Relations and Development in Zagreb.
KATONA, LINDA: Linda Katona is a staff member at iASK and the project manager coordinator of the Kraft Research Group within the institute. Since 2022, she has been a doctoral student at the Doctoral School of Sociology at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. Her research focuses on the development and formation of regional identity.
KEREKES, SÁNDOR: Professor Kerekes is a researcher at the Institute of Advanced Studies Kőszeg (iASK). He is one of the founders of the Department of Environmental Economics and Technology at Corvinus University of Budapest. He also served as the Vice-Rector of Corvinus University of Budapest and is now the head of the Doctoral School of Management and Business at Kaposvár University.
KÉZAI, PETRA KINGA: Petra Kinga Kézai is a former research fellow at iASK, an assistant professor at the Department of Management and Marketing within the Kautz Gyula Faculty of Economics at Széchenyi István University. Since 2020, she has been a junior research assistant at the HUN-REN Centre for Economic and Regional Studies.
KOMLÓSI, LÁSZLÓ: László Komlósi is the head of the Doctoral Program in Business Administration Sciences at the Doctoral School of Regional and Business Administration Sciences of the Széchenyi István University. His research areas include organizational communication and cognitive linguistics.
KORPONAY, ZSÓFI: Zsófi Korponay is a singer, graphic designer, and illustrator. She works in the jazz genre and has performed at numerous concerts both in Hungary and abroad. Additionally, she is known as a graphic designer and illustrator, including her work for OkosMese. Her work is characterized by creativity and artistic versatility. She regularly conducts singing lessons and masterclasses.
KOVÁCS, ÁGNES: Ágnes Kovács is a literary historian, researcher at iASK, and a member of the Agota Kristof Research Group. She defended her doctoral dissertation in 2011 at the Doctoral School of Literary Studies at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE). Her research interests include literary theory, contemporary Hungarian literary history, and the relationship between literature and mediality.
MAGASHÁZI, ANIKÓ: Anikó Magasházi is an economist who transitioned from a business career to academia, earning her PhD at Corvinus University of Budapest. She is a researcher and head of the international relations division at iASK. Her publications focus on Southeast Asia and Central and Eastern Europe, and her book on Singapore has been published in both Hungarian and English.
MÁRKA, SZABOLCS: Professor Márka is a member of the iASK Advisory Board. He is the Walter O. LeCroy, Jr. Professor of Physics at Columbia University and the head of the Columbia Experimental Gravity Group. Prof. Márka graduated from Kossuth Lajos University and earned his PhD from Vanderbilt University. He was among the first to detect cosmic gravitational waves, and his extensive research spans from astrophysics to biophysics.
MÁRKA, ZSUZSA: Zsuzsa Márka is a scientist at Columbia University’s Astrophysics Laboratory, where she works on the LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory) project, which announced the first direct detection of cosmic gravitational waves in 2016. Her research focuses on the joint search for gravitational waves and high-energy neutrinos.
MARKOVITS, ALÍZ: Alíz Markovits is the CEO of the Veszprém-Balaton 2023 European Capital of Culture program. As a former development manager at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Kőszeg, she gained experience in planning, implementing, and monitoring regional development projects. One of her key tasks was to put into practice the Kraft concept developed at the institute, specifically the “Creative City – Sustainable Region” project.
MÁTAY, MÓNIKA: Mónika Mátay is a historian and researcher at iASK, as well as the editor of the Talking Houses series. She is an associate professor with habilitation at the Institute of History of the Faculty of Humanities at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. Her research focuses on modern European social and cultural history.
MATYASOVSZKY-NÉMETH, MÁRTON: He is a researcher at iASK and the director of the Bibó István College of Advanced Studies. He is also an assistant professor at the Faculty of Law at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. His research areas include legal theory and legal sociology.
MAYER, GÁBOR: Secretary of State for Regional Development, Ministry of Public Administration and Regional Development.
MISZLIVETZ, FERENC: Ferenc Miszlivetz is the founder and director of the Institute of Advanced Studies Kőszeg (iASK), a Jean Monnet professor, full professor at the University of Pannonia Kőszeg Campus. He elaborated the innovative regional development concept, called Kraft program (Creative Cities, Sustainable Region). His research interests include democracy, civil society, Central-European and European Studies, globalization and sustainability.
MIZSEI, ZOLTÁN: Zoltán Mizsei is a music researcher at iASK and an associate professor in the Department of Church Music at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music. His main research areas are musical heritage and soundscape. He developed a research-based creative-musical training method called Sounding City.
MORVAY, SZABOLCS: Szabolcs Morvay is a lead researcher at the iASK KRAFT Research Group and an assistant professor at Széchenyi István University, where he teaches regional economics. He is also a member of the Hungarian Regional Science Association. His research areas include culture-based urban development.
MÜLLER, BERNHARD: Bernhard Müller is the former mayor of Wiener Neustadt and the founder of the Urban Forum. He currently serves as the Secretary General of the Urban Forum, where he focuses on urban and regional development issues. The goal of the Urban Forum is to promote the sustainable development of urban areas and support the representation of cities’ interests.
NAGY, IVÁN: Iván Nagy is the director, curator, and ethnologist of the Csallóköz Museum in Dunaszerdahely, Slovakia. He has gained recognition in the fields of ethnography and ethnomusicology. His research areas include instrumental folk music and the local history of Csallóköz.
NÁRAI, MÁRTA: Márta Nárai is an associate professor in the Department of Social Studies and Sociology at Széchenyi István University. She is the program director for the Master’s in Community and Civil Studies, and her area of expertise is social science sociology. Editor-in-Chief of the journal Civil Szemle from 2014 to 2023.
NYUL, ZOLTÁN: Deputy Secretary of State for Above-Ground Works, Ministry of Construction and Transport.
PORGA, GYULA: Mayor ofVeszprém, the European Capital of Culture, 2023.
RECHNITZER, ZSÓFIA: Zsófia Rechnitzer is an art historian, she graduated as a curator at the Hungarian University of Fine Arts, and then studied art market studies at the University of Warwick.
SZABÓ, LAJOS: Lajos Szabó is a former researcher at iASK. He is the acting Vice-Rector for Education and associate professor with habilitation at Corvinus University of Budapest. He is also a founding member of the Hungarian Project Management Association.
SZABÓ, MARIANN: iASK researcher. Mariann Szabó is a regional and environmental economist. She holds a PhD in Management and Organizational Sciences. She is an assistant professor at Budapest University of Technology and Economics.
TÓTH, GERGELY: Mayor of Keszthely, former iASK researcher.
Z. KARVALICS, LÁSZLÓ: László Z. Karvalics is a senior iASK researcher, a historian and information society scholar. Doctorate from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA). His work focuses on urban and regional development, particularly in the areas of smart cities, attraction planning, knowledge governance, and cultural heritage.
