She holds a Master’s degree in International and Diplomatic Studies from the University College Prague in Bratislava. Jessica is currently a PhD candidate at the Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica at the Faculty of Political Sciences and International Relations.
In her dissertation thesis, she focuses on research in the field of political and digital marketing, political communication, disinformation and electoral integrity. Her scientific work and publications deal with the topic of political marketing in world politics, mainly focusing on the United States, marketing female politicians and gender equality in politics. She was part of the organizational and marketing team of the Slovak Olympic Committee during the Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She completed an internship and worked at the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Belgrade, Serbia. She also worked at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the SR in the Diplomatic Protocol Department and at the Chancellery of the National Council of the SR in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Protocol during the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the Spring session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly as a session and protocol coordinator.
In the past she also worked as a writer and an editor in the media.
Aleksandr Dvoekonko is an advocate and supporter of Ukraine’s integration to the EU. He finished his MA thesis in the field of public relations at the Institute of Business Development and Strategy of Saratov State Technical University. He specializes also in the history of Ukraine, which he studied at the Ukrainian Free Institute in Germany. He worked at several organizations over the past years including the Charitable Foundation Cultural Heritage, Regional Civic Association Ukrainian National-Cultural Autonomy of St. Petersburg, Iskra or MAMA where he obtained several experiences and skills in the fields of project and event management, fundraising, marketing, and cooperation with different organizations. Since 2016 he has worked in the private sphere as a project manager within, which he organises projects and functions as a facilitator of cooperation amongst state authorities, bodies, and NGOs on the international level. His latest projects are the Ukraine-Slovakia 2021 Forum (devoted to aerospace and industrial cooperation) and the Kharkov-Slovakia Forum (devoted to increasing bilateral cooperation).
With its creativity, it contributes to the preservation of the unique identity of the Institute for Central Europe, while at the same time preserving the interconnectedness of the visual concept and design in individual projects of the organization, which are mainly focused on security defense, global climate change, or various projects dealing with the ideas of migration and asylum. or other socially discussed topics.
“The so-called the brand identity is the soul of every organization, it reflects its philosophy, which subsequently enables the given entity to provide professional outputs and solutions in the most comprehensive spirit possible for each individual project.”
Lucia, co-creates the primary material content of the institute’s outputs, and at the same time optimizes the processes of their effective dissemination, with the aim of naturally connecting highly specialized issues with the possibilities and limits of their sensory perception by the general public.
Nina Zmajkovič Kučeráková has experience in research and project management. She holds two Master’s degrees in Political Science and Sociology from the University of Amsterdam, which has provided her with a strong understanding of international affairs, political theory, research and social issues. Her first master’s thesis was focused on irregular migration in the context of dominant discourse and the second one was from the area of sustainability. She previously worked in GLOBSEC as grants and funding specialist and currently is employed at Comenius University in Bratislava, where she is responsible for project management support, external communication and research support. Having worked in business, non-governmental and public sector, she brings a diverse set of skills and experience including research, project management, organization of events and summits, handling financial aspects and specialisation in external communication and data processing. At ICE she is responsible for ensuring the success of the ACRONYM project.
Doc. Ing. Ivan Koblen, CSc. (Colonel- retired) graduated from the VVLŠ SNP in Košice in the field of aviation mechanical engineering and internal scientific studies at the Department of Aircraft and Engines of the Military Academy in Brno. Habilitated in the field of habilitation Transportation at the Faculty of Aeronautics (FA) of the Technical University in Košice (TUKE). He worked at the Research Institute of Czechoslovak Military Aviation in Prague. After the division of the former Czech and Slovak Federal Republic he worked in the armaments and defence research bodies of the Ministry of Defence in the field of technical development of aviation and air defence, armaments policy and planning, cooperation with NATO and EDA in the field of armaments and defence research and international cooperation in armaments.
He worked as a defence advisor – NADREP at the Slovak Mission to NATO. Completed the Strategic Studies in Armaments (SERA) course at the French MoD/ DGA (General Delegation for Armaments). After leaving the MoD, he worked as a quality management representative in an aerospace company and as an assistant professor at the Faculty of Materials Science and Technology of STU. In addition to STU, he lectured at the Faculty of Aeronautics of TUKE (where he is a member of the departmental committee of the study field of Transport) and the Faculty of Special Technology of the Trenčín University of Alexander Dubček in Trenčín. He is the author and co-author of 3 scientific monographs, 1 university textbook, 2 textbooks and more than 90 scientific and professional articles published in scientific and professional journals and papers presented at international conferences in the field of aerospace development, defence and security, armaments, defence research, life cycle management of systems, quality management and standardization with more than 220 citations, of which more than 40 citations are registered in the citation indexes Web by Science and in the SCOPUS database.
Dominik is a MA student of European Studies and International Relations at the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences at Comenius University in Bratislava. He is a civic activist at the European Parliament Office in Slovakia and a member of the European Democracy Youth Network and Robert Schuman Foundation. His studies focus on the functioning of the EU carbon market, energy security, and foreign and defence policy of the European Union. Furthermore, he was the Slovak representative at the NATO-EU Roundtable 2020 conference in Estonia, he publishes for a Brussels-based non-profit organisation, Stand Up for Europe, and works as a political analyst for a Hungarian daily, the Bumm.sk. Within ICE, he focuses on defence and security, as well as migration.
Matej Horňák is a macroeconomist, mainly focused on the development and forecasts of the Slovak economy in the context of global challenges. Previously, he was a research assistant at the Industriewissenschaftliches Institut in Vienna, where he worked on the analysis of the automotive industry. He has completed several domestic and international internships in the private sphere as well as in several ministries. He studied Economic Policy at the University of Economics in Bratislava. Outside of work, he is a member of a local municipal council.
Supporter of European ideals of the rule of law and a developed civil society. He has been advocating pro-European ideas for a long time with an emphasis on building a just society based on the principles of human solidarity and belonging. It is these principles, according to him, that represent the basic starting point for maintaining social harmony, guaranteeing human dignity for everyone.
“We are all called, and each of us must begin with ourselves.”
He graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Comenius University in Bratislava, where he received the title of Doctor of Laws. During his more than 25-year professional career, he worked as a lawyer in the commercial sphere, later held several managerial positions and held statutory positions in private as well as state organizations. For the next ten years, he and his wife have been engaged in charitable work through a foundation that, through its activities, tries to alleviate the consequences of the life situations of people suffering from severe disabilities and various forms of socio-economic discrimination.
Frederick Hardman Lea is a student of Emergency and Security Management at the Justice Institute of British Columbia. He has studied history and public safety in Canada, specializing in physical security, emergency management, and crime prevention techniques. He has conducted research and analysis related to political violence in Asia, Europe, and North America, focusing on terrorism, ethnic conflict, racial violence, riots, and revolutions. Frederick’s specialty is creating cascade models and completing security assessments – especially as they relate to physical security and environmental design. He has further experience in sales, client communication, and customer service in the food industry, retail, and relocation services.