Our Experts

Dr. Margaret McColl is Senior Lecturer in Museum and Heritage Education at the University of Glasgow, where she directs the International Master of Education in Museums and Heritage (EDUMAH) and leads the MSc in Museum Education. Her research focuses on museum education, heritage learning, public history, digital engagement, and the role of museums in promoting social justice, democratic participation, and lifelong learning. She has published extensively on museum pedagogy, collaborative learning, and innovative approaches to heritage education, including digital and […]

Ry Moran is Associate University Librarian for Reconciliation at the University of Victoria and an internationally recognized leader in Indigenous archives, knowledge stewardship, and reconciliation. He previously served as the founding Director of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR), where he played a central role in preserving the records of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and advancing public access to Indigenous histories. His work focuses on Indigenous data sovereignty, digital archives, community-engaged research, and the ethical stewardship of […]

Dr. Adriana Mica is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Warsaw and founder and director of the Failure Lab. A Romanian-born sociologist based in Poland, her research has pioneered the emerging field of Failure Studies, examining the role of failure, unintended consequences, and complexity in governance and public policymaking. Her current work explores failure irrationality, obsession, taste, sound, and insentience in policy processes. Since 2026, she has served as Series Editor of Cambridge Elements in Failure Studies. Dr. […]

Dr. Kate Korycki is Assistant Professor in the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies at Western University, Canada. Her research examines collective memory, nationalism, gender, and the politics of historical remembrance in Central and Eastern Europe, with a particular focus on Poland. She is the author of Weaponizing the Past: Collective Memory and Jews, Poles, and Communists in Twenty-First Century Poland (Berghahn Books), which was shortlisted for the Memory Studies Association Best First Book Award. Her work explores the […]

Dr. Piero Domenico Tortola is Associate Professor of European Politics at the University of Groningen (Netherlands), where he also directs the Democracy and Governance research theme of the Rudolf Agricola School. His research focuses on European integration, democracy, governance, decentralization, comparative politics, and Italian politics. He has published extensively on the European Union, multi-level governance, regionalism, and democratic innovation, with a particular interest in how institutions shape political participation and public policy. Dr. Tortola has led and contributed to numerous international […]

Dr. Darlene Clover is Professor of Leadership Studies and Interim Chair in the Faculty of Education at the University of Victoria. Her research focuses on feminist and adult education, community and cultural activism, museums and public pedagogy, citizenship, and democratic participation. She has published extensively on the role of museums, arts, and cultural institutions in promoting social justice, gender equality, and inclusive citizenship. Dr. Clover has led numerous international research collaborations and community-engaged projects exploring the educational potential of museums […]

Prof. Dr. Balázs Majtényi is Professor of Constitutional Law at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Budapest, and a leading scholar in the fields of constitutional law, minority rights, human rights, and democratic governance. His research examines the protection of national and ethnic minorities, the rule of law, populism, and constitutional change in Central and Eastern Europe. He has authored and edited numerous books and articles on minority protection, multiculturalism, and constitutional democracy, and has served in senior academic and public leadership […]

Dr. Karolina Lendák-Kabók is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Budapest. Her research focuses on ethnic minorities, collective memory, gender, intermarriage, language, and identity formation in Central and Eastern Europe. She is the author of National Minorities in Serbian Academia: The Role of Gender and Language Barrier (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022) and has published extensively on minority rights, education, gender equality, and post-Yugoslav societies. Dr. Lendák-Kabók leads internationally funded research on ethnic identity and […]

Dr. Félix Krawatzek is Senior Researcher at the Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS) in Berlin, where he leads the research cluster Youth and Generational Change. He is Principal Investigator of the European Research Council (ERC)-funded project Moving Russia(ns): Intergenerational Transmission of Memories Abroad and at Home (MoveMeRU), which examines the role of memory in shaping identities across generations and borders. His research focuses on collective memory, youth, migration, political socialization, and contemporary Eastern Europe. Dr. Krawatzek also […]

Katarzyna Batko-Tołuć. Executive Director of the Foundation for Poland – the founder running a small Civic Fund focused on supporting democratic efforts of the civil society in Poland. A co-founder of the Citizens Network Watchdog Poland and its former executive board member. Watchdog Poland is a grass-root civic movement focused on transparency of governance, accountability of power and the rule of law. Advocates for better regulations in these areas and actively participates in the public debate by writing her own […]

Mag.a Karin Luomi-Messerer is a Senior Researcher at 3s Research & Consulting in Vienna, Austria, where she has worked since 2001. Trained in Social Work and Educational Sciences at the University of Vienna, she has more than twenty-five years of experience in national and European research and policy consulting. Her work focuses on lifelong learning, vocational education and training (VET), higher education, learning outcomes, qualifications frameworks, and the validation and recognition of non-formal and informal learning. She has led and […]

Dr. Stefan Humpl is Managing Director and co-founder of 3s Research & Consulting (Vienna, Austria) and Chair of the 3s Research Laboratory. Trained as a geographer at the University of Vienna, his research focuses on higher education, vocational education and training (VET), labour market intelligence, and skills development at the national and European levels. He has led numerous Austrian and international projects on curriculum design, quality assurance, qualifications frameworks, and educational policy, advising governments, universities, and public institutions. Dr. Humpl […]

Prof. Dr. Gabriele Franger-Huhle is Professor Emerita of Social Work at Coburg University of Applied Sciences and Arts (Germany). Her research focuses on human rights, social work, women’s history, and intercultural exchange. She is Chair of the International Association of Women’s Museums (IAWM) and leads its Research Group. She also serves on the board of Frauen in der Einen Welt – Centre for Intercultural Women’s Everyday Life Research and International Exchange and is curator of the Museum Frauenkultur Regional – […]

Beate Schmidtke is Co-Lead of the Europe Canada Network (EUCAnet) at the University of Victoria and Project Manager of the SSHRC Partnership Development Grant Mnemonic Democracy: Collective Memory, Civic Education, and Democratic Engagement. She specializes in international research management, knowledge mobilization, and transatlantic partnership building. Over the past two decades, she has led the development and administration of numerous projects funded by the European Union, SSHRC, DAAD, and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, fostering collaboration among universities, policymakers, museums, and civil […]

Martin Bunton is Professor and Chair of the Department of History at the University of Victoria. His research and teaching focus on European imperialism, the colonial state, land and property regimes, and the historical foundations of political community, with a particular emphasis on the modern Middle East. He holds a BA from the University of British Columbia and an MA and DPhil from the University of Oxford. His scholarship examines colonial administration, land legislation, and governance in comparative perspective, including […]

Seongcheol Kim is a Privatdozent (senior faculty member with habilitation) in political science at the University of Freiburg, Germany. His research encompasses a wide range of countries (Central/Eastern, Western, Southern Europe) and topics, including authoritarianism and democratic backsliding; nationalism and populism (of the left, right, and centre); political parties and party organization; social movements and protest; and discourse analysis and radical democratic theory. A major focus of his current work is on comparative party politics of Canada and (Western) Europe.