Alumni Spotlights

Recent PhD graduate projects:

Environmental and Resource Governance (ERG) 
Recent PhD graduates in this field have studied the impacts of social networks in regional environmental regimes through the case of the Carpathian Convention (Marta Vetier); 
the illegal tiger trade in the Amur-Heilong region (Natalia Pervushina); farm animal welfare in Hungary (Mariann Molnár); human rights, land, and governance in America’s Arctic (Mara Kimmel); and governance in Bulgaria's Natura 2000 system (Brendan Duprey). 

Energy Transitions and Climate Change (ETC)
Recent PhD graduates specializing in ETC address issues of the regional securitization of cyber-physical energy systems (Ion Iftimie); socio-political feasibility of low-carbon energy transitions, energy security, and climate mitigation scenarios (Jessica Jewell); socio-political discourse around landmark energy efficient buildings (Sergi Moles); comparative studies of renewable energy uptake (Vadim Vinichenko); productivity impacts of energy efficiency measures (Souran Chatterjee); and transformation of energy systems in slums (Mukesh Kumar Gupta).

Environmental Justice, Politics and Humanities (JPH) 
Recent PhD graduates specializing in JPH have studied the articulation of mining and indigeneity in Russia (Anna Varfolomeeva); the racialized histories and creation of fragmented identities in REDD+ Readiness programs in Guyana and Suriname (Ariadne Collins); contested urban sustainability (Amanda Winter); intersections of climate change and gender policies and practices among small farmers in Nicaragua (Noémi Gonda); and environmental ethics in the writings of Jalal al-Din Rumi (Azim Shamshiev). 

Sustainable Management of Socio-ecological Systems (SES)  
Recent PhD graduates specializing in SES have studied the assessing implementation capacities at the national level for the environmental Sustainable Development Goals (Dora Almassy); the regional civil society engagement and governance in AGENDA 2030 (Simon Olsen); the management effectiveness of biosphere reserves in the Arab region (Diane Matar); water governance and sustainable rural livelihoods in Malawi (Jolly Wasambo); and using fractal analysis to study the resilience and disparity of energy systems in cities (Fouad Khan). 

Resource and Disaster Management and Pollution Control (RMP) 
Recent PhD graduates in this area have studied industrial chemical regulation in the European Union and the United States (Agnes Botos); transition from public to private provision of public services in the water sector (Naira Harutyunyan); transboundary water management and climate change adaptation (Sonja Koeppel) and and assessment of FAO's climate-smart agriculture program (Anastasia Tikhonova). 

Alumna Dr. Yolanda Ariadne has drawn on her dissertation to publish two journal articles

Dr. Yolanda Ariadne Collins defended her Dissertation titled “REDD+ Unravelled: A Discursive Analysis of Neoliberal Forest Conservation in Guyana and Suriname” at the Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy in May, 2017 under the supervision of Dr. Guntra Aistara.

Amanda Winter, PhD graduate in 2016

Dr. Amanda Winter is a research fellow at the University of Nottingham where she leads the Policy and Governance theme of the interdisciplinary Leverhulme project ‘Sustaining Urban Habitats’. Her current comparative work explores the multilevel urban governance of environmental policies in Nottingham and Shanghai.

How did CEU become #MyCEU? Meet our PhD alumna Mariann Molnár

"A PhD at CEU was exactly what I needed: time, excellent facilities, inspiring courses, the help of committed academics and the friendship of fellow students.. All of these enabled me to pursue my dreams...." (Mariann Molnar, PhD alumna)

Natalia Pervushina's reflections on the Doctoral Program (2019)

I joined PhD program in Environmental Sciences and Policy Department in Central European University with a Master’s degree from International Relations and European Studies (IRES) Department in CEU and several years of working experience in World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Federal Russian Customs on the Russian Far East.

Anna Varfolomeeva's reflections on the Doctoral Program (2019)

I graduated from the Department of Nationalism Studies at CEU in 2012, and after that worked as a visiting researcher at Uppsala Centre for Russian and Eurasian Studies in Sweden with a project on state policies towards indigenous peoples in Sweden and Russia. While in Sweden, I witnessed Sami protests against the iron ore mine in the north of the country, and this experience sparked my interest in indigenous relations with mining industry.

Yulia Barabanova's Doctoral Program reflections

January 22, 2014

Before joining CEU for the Master's Program in Environmental Sciences and Policy back in 2007, I worked as an international relations officer at Omsk State Pedagogical University, Russia. Despite my linguistic training and work related to international academic exchange, I was always interested in environmental issues. After a brief study visit to CEU in 2006, I decided to change my career path and apply for a master's degree there. This was probably the most crucial decision in my life so far.

Johan Liliestam's Doctoral Program reflections

January 22, 2014

I studied at the master’s program, "Problem solving in science" with a focus on environmental science at Göteborg University, Sweden (Degree: Master of Science in Environmental sciences and Physics, in May 2005), as well as at the master’s program, "Public and private environmental management" at Freie Universität, Berlin, Germany (Degree: Master of Arts in Environmental Political Science, in October 2007).

Csaba Pusztai, graduated in 2011, is a Postdoctoral Fellow at UNU-IAS, Yokohama, Japan

Csaba Pusztai came to CEU with an academic background in economics and business. Having already gathered several years of teaching experience in Hungarian tertiary education, he decided to seek a more research intensive role after earning his PhD in 2011. In 2012 he joined the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies in Yokohama, Japan as a Postdoctoral Fellow. At UNU-IAS, he is in the Sustainable Urban Futures program pursuing an individual research agenda as well as contributing to the team effort.

Sergio Tirado-Herrero, PhD graduate in 2013

In 2008 when I came to CEU to enroll in the PhD program in Environmental Sciences and Policy I already had a few years of research experience at my home university in Spain – the University of Alcala (Madrid). There I got my first and second degrees (a BSc- and an MSc-equivalent in Environmental Sciences with a specialization in Environmental Economics) and gained my first professional experience as a researcher.