Svetlana Chitu
Weiser Professional Development Fellow, 2015
Svetlana Chitu is associate professor and head of the Department of Curriculum Design and Monitoring at the Free International University of Moldova. She is also an associate professor of curriculum theory and methodology at the University of European Political and Economic Studies. She has worked on several long-term projects relating to the design and implementation of assessment programs in the Republic of Moldova’s educational system. She completed her PhD in pedagogy at Moldova State University in 2004. Professor Chitu will visit U-M for four weeks in Fall 2015 to complete research on a project entitled, “Curriculum Development in Higher Education: Bologna Process Perspective,” in cooperation with Lisa R. Lattuca, professor of education.
Irina Demetradze
Weiser Professional Development Fellow, 2015
Irina Demetradze is an assistant professor of archaeology at Ilia State University in Georgia, where she also completed her PhD in 2014. Her work in Roman and Iberian archaeology has afforded opportunities to work as a visiting scholar at the University of Bologna (Italy), the University of California-Berkeley (US), and the University of Fribourg (Switzerland). From 2003-08, she was a cultural heritage advisor and field monitor for BP Exploration’s AGT (Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey) Pipelines Project. Professor Demetradze will spend four weeks at U-M in March 2015, where she will work on a project exploring Romans in Asiatic Iberia. Her host advisor is Christopher Ratté, professor of classical studies and history of art.
Irfan Hosic
Weiser Professional Development Fellow, 2015
Irfan Hosic is assistant professor at the University of Bihac in Bosnia & Herzegovina, where he teaches courses on art history, textile design, and the sociology of clothing and fashion. He completed his doctorate in art history at the Unviersity of Zagreb in 2012. In 2013-14, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Ghent University in Belgium. He also works as a freelance curator and was an art critic for Dani, a weekly magazine in Sarajevo. Professor Hosic will spend four weeks at U-M in September 2015 working on a project entitled, “Image of Crisis,” in collaboration with his host advisor, Christopher McNamara, lecturer in screen arts and cultures.
Violeta Kalnytska
Weiser Professional Development Fellow, 2015
Violeta Kalnytska is a lecturer in English at Kharkiv National Medical University in Ukraine. She organizes English-language activities, including speaking clubs and guest lectures, for undergraduate and graduate students, and supervises student projects. Professor Kalnytska completed her MS in Romano-Germanic philology at V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University and her PhD in philology at V. I. Vernadsky Tavrida National University, graduating in 2014. In her research, she focuses on the works of Graham Greene and issues of identity and culture. While at U-M for four weeks in September 2015, she will explore the topic, “Identity in Graham Greene’s Postcolonial Novels.” Her U-M host advisor is E.J. Westlake, associate professor of music and English.
Bidzina Kapanadze
Weiser Professional Development Fellow, 2015
Bidzina Kapanadze is assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Ilia State University in Georgia, where he also completed his doctorate in astrophysics in 2010. During his academic career, he has focused on extragalactic astronomy and active galactic nuclei, and has completed several long-term research visits at the Palermo Institute of Astrophysics and Cosmic Physics in Italy. He has also participated in a number of workshops and conferences in the US and Europe, and published many articles and astronomical telegrams. During his four-week stay at U-M in March 2015, Professor Kapanadze will collaborate with his host advisor, Hugh Aller, Ralph Baldwin Professor of Astronomy, on a study of multiwavelength flux variability in blazars.
Vafa Kazdal
Weiser Professional Development Fellow, 2015
Vafa Kazdal is dean of the School of Education at ADA University in Azerbaijan. Professor Kazdal attended Azerbaijan University of Languages, completing her doctorate in 2007. She also pursued an MA in English at the University of Warwick (UK). Her professional interests include language and identity, communicative language teaching, content-based instruction, teaching writing skills, and teacher training. She has participated in a number of conferences, working groups, and academic programs, including the Junior Faculty Development Program at Indiana University. Professor Kazdal will spend three weeks at U-M in March 2015, where she will work on a project related to educational leadership. Her host advisor is Stephen L. DesJardins, professor of education and public policy.
Dragi Kimovski
Weiser Professional Development Fellow, 2015
Dragi Kimovski is assistant professor of computer science and interim dean of the Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering at St. Paul the Apostle University of Information Science and Technology in Ohrid, Macedonia. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in computer science and communication technology at the Technical University of Sofia, Bulgaria, finishing in 2013. Professor Kimovski has completed research visits at universities in Bulgaria, Italy, and Spain. His faculty partner at U-M will be Kayvan Najarian, associate professor of computational medicine and bioinformatics. They will collaborate on the project, “High Performance Computing Application for Modeling of the Metabolic Factors” for four weeks in September 2015.
Besnik Krasniqi
Weiser Professional Development Fellow, 2015
Besnik Krasniqi is assistant professor of entrepreneurship and small business at the University of Prishtina in Kosovo, where he also completed his bachelor’s degree in management. He pursued his MA and PhD in economics at Staffordshire University (UK), graduating in 2010. He has been a visiting scholar at Indiana University (US), the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), and Vaxjo University (Sweden). Additionally, he has served as a consultant and trainer for various organizations, including the UNDP. Professor Krasniqi will spend three weeks at U-M in September 2015 working on a project entitled, “Institutional Quality and High Growth Entrepreneurship in Transition Economies,” in collaboration with his U-M host advisor, John Branch, lecturer of marketing and strategy at the Ross School of Business.
Tamar Lominadze
Weiser Professional Development Fellow, 2015
Tamar Lominadze is professor of information technology and learning systems at the Georgian Technical University in Tbilisi, where she also completed her doctorate in technical sciences in 2005. She earned her e-learning specialist credential at Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in 2009, and became head of her university’s e-learning center in 2011. She has received four previous grants to fund her work, has participated in 15 conferences, and has published two books and many articles. Professor Lominadze will spend three weeks at U-M in September 2015, where she will work on a project exploring the implementation of modern information and communications technology in education. Her host advisor is Perry J. Samson, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Atmospheric Science.
Oleksii Shestakovskyi
Weiser Professional Development Fellow, 2015
Oleksii Shestakovskyi is a lecturer in sociology at the National Technical University of Ukraine’s Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. He received his doctorate in 2012 from the Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv. His research interests include values, cross-national research, quantitative methods in social sciences, post-communist transformations, migration, ethnic and anti-immigration prejudice, ethnic relations, and nationalism. Shestakovskyi will attend the Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research at U-M in summer 2015.
Michal Vasecka
Weiser Professional Development Fellow, 2015
Michal Vasecka is associate professor of sociology at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic, and at Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. He received his doctorate at Masaryk University in 2004, and has been a visting scholar in the Transnational Center for Democracy Studies at the New School in New York City. From 2005-12, he was executive director of the Center for the Research of Ethnicity and Culture in Bratislava. He has served as a consultant and board member for many organizations, including the Fulbright Commission in Slovakia. Professor Vasecka will spend four weeks at U-M in April 2015 working on his project, “The Role of Antisemitism in Processes of Modernization of Central Europe after 1989.” His U-M host advisor is Geneviève Zubrzycki, associate professor of sociology.
