Title: Mapping memory. Digital methods for documenting and interpreting rural heritage landscapes

Carol Mohr, Bucovina Institute of Romanian Academy, Rădăuți, Romania

Carmen Chașovschi, "Ștefan cel Mare" University, Suceava, Romania

Short bio: 

Carmen Chașovschi

She has graduated Faculty of Tourism in 1995 and has received the PhD title in Human Resources Management in 2004. The main competences developed (and interests) are in the fields of tourism, HRM and entrepreneurship. She is currently associate professor at University of Suceava, Faculty of Economics and Public Administration and she is cooperating as senior trainer and consultant with several companies and NGOs from Romania and abroad. She worked between 2001 and 2010 for GIZ (German International Cooperation Agency) in Romania, as project manager and tourism consultant. Personal goal: to support the preservation of cultural landscape of Bucovina area.

Title: From cigarette butts to pavement-designed bricks. Assessing the ability to recycle small-scale waste into bricks within urban heritage. Case study: Ferdowsi Avenue, Tehran, Iran

Mahta Saremi, University of Tehran, Iran

Short bio: Adjunct Professor in the Department of Tourism Management, Alborz Campus, University of Tehran. Her main research work is focused on the subject of Tourism Behavior and modeling, destination image in historical sites, new technologies for tourism development, such as smart tourism and marketing tourism. She has been teaching tourist behavior as well as policy-making in the tourism industry.  She is a member of the Water & Life Foundation and Head of the International Committee of the Scientific Association of Waste Management. She has work experience with the UNDP and the Department of Environment on the subject of Environmental Impact Assessment in Iran, as well as the National Olympic Committee, Sport & Environment Commission. She has also been a member of the managing board of directors of the Iranian Association of Environmental Assessment. She has been working with different NGOs and organizers for conferences and events on environmental studies, knowledge management, and sustainable development.

Title: Sophistication and sustainability: Leveraging economic complexity to decarbonize tourism air transport in a changing climate

Oana Driha, University of Alicante, Department of Applied Economics, Spain

Festus Adedoyin, Bournemouth University, Department of Computing and Informatics, UK

Daniel Balsalobre-Lorente, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Department of Applied Economics I, Spain

Ilhan Ozturk, Nisantasi University, Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences, Istanbul, Türkiye

Short bio: 

Oana Driha

Associate Professor of Applied Economics in the Faculty of Economics, Business, and researcher at the Institute of Tourism Research, as well as at the Institute of International Economy within the University of Alicante, Spain. Oana holds an international PhD in economics, a bachelor's in International Economic Relations (University of Oradea), and another one in Tourism (University of Alicante). Her research interests are focused on energy economics, innovation, tourism economics, climate change, and economic growth. The results of her research are published in more than 20 papers in well-known international journals like Journal of Cleaner Production, Renewable Energy, Resources Policy, or Current Issues in Tourism. She also has vast experience as a project manager in the field of energy transition, sustainable development, sustainable tourism, and climate change in over 45 countries around the world. Oana has been collaborating with different donors like the European Commission, the European Union Intellectual Property Office, the Spanish and the Philippines Ministry of Higher Education, or the National Secretary of Science, Innovation and Technology.

Title: Rethinking Natural Capital Through the Lens of Sustainability. The Role of Circular Economy

Vera Amicarelli, University of Bari Aldo Moro - Bari Department of Economics, Management and Business Law, Italy

Short bio: Associate Professor, Ph.D. in Commodity Science, at the Department of Economics, Management and Business Law at the University of Bari Aldo Moro, Italy. She teaches “Industrial Ecology”, “Quality Environment and Sustainability” and “Resource and Waste Management” in both bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She is a Professor Committee member in the “Economics and Management” Ph.D. course and advisor of related Ph.D. projects. Her current research interests mainly focus on circular economy measurement; natural resources and waste management; and environmental indicators (water and carbon footprint). She is author of more than 90 papers published in a wide range of international peer-reviewed journals, volumes and conference proceedings. She is member of some international scientific journals Editorial Board, and she serves as Guest Editor and/or Reviewer for several international scientific journals and related Special Issues.  From 2017 until 2024 she has been Department Delegate for the Erasmus+ program and member of the University of Bari Aldo Moro Erasmus+ Task Force. From 2007 she is Responsible Person of several Agreements with European Partners Universities (Romania, Portugal, Spain, Germany). She is member of different national and international research groups whose principal activities are writing scientific articles, project proposals and consolidating international networks. She is member of the Italian Commodity Science Academy (AISME), the International Society of Commodity Science and Technology (IGWT), and the Italian Circular Economy Stakeholders Platform (ICESP).

Title: Towards agile smart cities: Adaptive approaches to urban planning and digital transformation

Irina Rădulescu, Petroleum & Gas University of Ploiesti, Romania

Short bio: Professor PhD at Petroleum-Gas University of Ploiești, Faculty of Economic Sciences, vice-president of Export Business Center Association from Bucharest, member of the coordinating team of European Digital Innovation Hub – Wallachia eHub for South-Muntenia region, and manager of Danube Engineering Hub Cluster. She is the author and co-author of 80 scientific papers presented at national/international conferences and/or published in recognized journals, indexed in ISI Web of Science, Scopus, EBSCO, Ulrich, and other international databases, and 10 books published at recognized national publishing houses. She is involved as a member or coordinator in national and international projects related to international trade, entrepreneurship, or digital transformation processes. She is an expert in international trade at Export Business Center from Ploiești, Prahova County, and an expert in organic agriculture at Integrated Export Services for SMEs in Romania Project, funded through the "Swiss-Romanian Cooperation Program for Reducing Economic and Social Disparities within the Enlarged European Union”.

Title: Alternative data sources for cultural tourism: beyond statistics, towards a living understanding of cultural heritage

Cristina Boboc, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania

Short bio: Professor at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Faculty of Cybernetics, Statistics and Informatics. Since December 2013, she has been part of the research team of the Institute of National Economy of the Romanian Academy. Since 2014, she has been a National Correspondent for Eurofound, researching migration, labor market vulnerabilities, and social policies. She is an expert in national and international research teams on different topics, including migration, sustainable development, vulnerabilities in the labor market, and gender inequalities. 

Title: The innovation – purpose or need? The effect of financial inclusion on financial innovation

Florian Nuță, Danubius University from Galati, Romania

Short bio: Full Professor Dr. Habil. in Accounting at Danubius University from Galaţi, with over 17 years of teaching and research experience. He is affiliated with the Ştefan cel Mare University of Suceava, Doctoral School of Social and Human Sciences, for research and doctoral supervising activities. Dr. Nuţă holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Insurance and a master’s degree in Accounting from the Dunărea de Jos University of Galaţi. He attended the Doctoral School of Economics and Business Administration at Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iaşi, defending the Environmental Protection Accounting in the Contemporary Economy thesis in 2009. In 2011, Dr. Nuţă won a national grant competition to finance a postdoctoral project on a topic related to SME’s corporate social and environmental responsibility. The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iaşi and the Bucharest University of Economic Studies hosted the project activities, which included a research visit to the University of Messina, Italy, in 2012. Starting in 2014, he has been in charge of research activity management as vice-rector with the Danubius University from Galaţi. In January 2022, Dr. Nuţă defended his habilitation thesis, entitled “Research on Environmental and Social Accounting in the Context of Sustainable Development Objectives and for Ensuring Intergenerational Equity” at the Ştefan cel Mare University of Suceava, Doctoral School of Social and Human Sciences, being afterward affiliated to the same doctoral school. His scientific research is conducted in the following fields: Environmental Accounting, Climate Change Economics, Energy Economics, Urban Environmental Accounting, Carbon Accounting, Green Taxation, and Public Policy. He is involved in numerous editorial initiatives as editor-in-chief, editor, member of the international scientific board, and reviewer for scientific journals and international conferences, conducting more than 500 peer-reviews during his academic career. Dr. Nuţă worked as a reviewer for Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, Energy Efficiency, Resources Policy, Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, Sustainability, Energies, Economic Research, Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Countries, Cogent Business and Management, and other peer-reviewed scientific journals.. 

Title: Preserving cultural heritage through sustainable tourism management

Alexandru Stratan, Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova, Republic of Moldova

Corina Gribincea, Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova, Republic of Moldova

Short bio:

Alexandru Stratan

Professor habil., PhD in economic sciences, rector of Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova, corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova has a successful activity, having prestigious scientific works, participating in various competitions, becoming Laureate of the Prize of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova in 2004, 2006 and Laureate of the Prize of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova "Scientist of the Year" (2014). In 2017 he was awarded the National Prize. Prof. Alexandru STRATAN has published as an author or in collaboration over 300 scientific and methodological-didactic works in the field of economics, including 7 monographs, 2 textbooks, 1 patent, 2 certificates of registration of objects of copyright and related rights. He has presented papers at numerous national and international scientific forums (Romania, Russia, Belgium, Georgia, France, Great Britain, Turkey, Latvia, Indonesia, Japan, China, etc.), participated in various professional internships (Germany, USA, Greece, Denmark, China, etc.), conducted research within various applied scientific projects (TACIS, GEF, NATO, CSŞDT, FP 7, Visegrad Fund, OECD, FAO, etc.). He also participated in the development of the regulatory framework: the National Strategy for Sustainable Development of the Agro-Industrial Complex of the Republic of Moldova (2008-2015), Licensing Conditions and Lists of supplementary Documents, which are attached to applications for issuing licenses for practicing certain types of activity in the agro-industrial field, Integrated Development Strategies for a number of districts of the Republic of Moldova, SME Development Strategy, SND 2020, as well as other policy documents attested by implementation certificates.

Title: TBA

Valentina Vasile, Institute of National Economy, Romanian Academy, Romania

Raluca Mazilescu, Institute of National Economy, Romanian Academy, Romania

Marius Surugiu, Institute of National Economy, Romanian Academy, Romania

Short bio: 

Valentina Vasile

Professor with a PhD in Economics, and Senior Researcher. She serves as Director of the Institute of National Economy at the Romanian Academy and teaches at Nicolae Titulescu University in Bucharest. She also acts as a PhD advisor. With extensive experience in economic research, she has participated in national and international interdisciplinary projects, focusing on topics such as labor economics, migration, human capital, the digital economy and employment, social policies, education, macroeconomics, sustainable development, resilience, and the circular economy. She has a strong record of international collaboration, serving as both coordinator and team member in interdisciplinary research projects funded by European funds, Horizon 2020, the SEE Program, Black Sea Basin ENI CBC, CEDEFOP, ILO, Eurofound, and various universities (e.g., Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, Japan). Her work includes publications in scientific papers and books indexed in Web of Science, Scopus, and other international databases. She also serves as a reviewer for several scientific journals.

Raluca Mazilescu

Senior researcher at the Institute of National Economy of the Romanian Academy. She holds a university degree in Economics from Bucharest University of Economic Studies (2001), a PhD in Economics (2007), and a Postdoctoral degree in Economics (2013) – National Institute of Economic Research “Costin C. Kirițescu” of the Romanian Academy; member in research projects focused on entrepreneurship and tourism; author and co-author in books and articles.

Marius Surugiu

Senior researcher at the Institute of National Economy, Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania. Holding a Ph.D. in economics, his research portfolio primarily focuses on key elements that significantly impact socio-economic development: foreign trade and tourism as factors, the scarcity of natural resources, and the necessity of environmental protection as constraints, along with taxation as a challenge. His scientific, professional, and academic achievements can be structured along four major directions: exploring the complex interactions between fiscal policy and economic development, addressing challenges of socio-economic development in the context of climate change, examining determinants of intra-industry trade, and investigating the role of tourism in stimulating economic growth.

Title: “Masters of the Resin Tears”: Restructuring the Knowledge Pattern for Non-Captive Audiences with Serious Games to Elicit Transformational Experiences

Dorothea Papathanasiou-Zuhrt, Open University of Cyprus, Cyprus; Artifactory, Greece

Short bio: Dorothea Papathanasiou-Zuhrt studied Classics and Germanistics at the National Kapodistrian University of Athens and History and Ethnology at the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Germany, where she also obtained an M.A. degree in Linguistics. She has obtained her M.Sc. degree in Planning, Management and Policy of Tourism and her Ph.D. degree in Heritage Management at the University of the Aegean in Greece. She is proficient in English, German, French, Italian, Russian and have basic knowledge of Turkish. In the last 20 years she has completed 60 EU funded research projects with a total value of 19.496.302,51 EUR, including 58 museum applications, trails, guides, games, and digital apps and 21 training programs in HED and VET. She is active in the tertiary education at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the post-graduate study program “Cultural Policy and Development”, Open University of Cyprus and at the graduate study program at the “Department of Tourism Economics and Management”, University of the Aegean in Greece. In the last 20 years she has researched in the domains heritage and tourism with over 250 publications.

Title: Bridging Gaps or Breaking Grounds: Navigating the Economic, Environmental, and Community Challenges of Tourism Infrastructure Development in India’s Mountain State

Devkant Kala, School of Business, UPES, Dehradun, India

Short bio: Dr. Devkant Kala is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the School of Business, UPES, Dehradun, India. He earned his PhD in 2015 in services marketing, with research interests spanning consumer behavior, tourism & hospitality, and technology adoption. He has been the principal investigator on the project titled “Assessing the impact of food experience and restaurant services on tourist satisfaction in the Rishikesh-Badrinath Yatra Highway” and worked as a project assistant on the research project “Ecotourism planning and development in the Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary, Uttarakhand”. Dr. Kala has also authored an edited book, titled “Global Opportunities and Challenges for Rural and Mountain Tourism”, published by IGI Global. He has supervised two scholars who have successfully earned their doctoral degrees and is currently guiding three other PhD scholars. He has published extensively in renowned international journals such as Current Issues in Tourism, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly, Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality and Tourism, Digital Policy, Regulations, and Governance, Education and Information Technologies, and Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism, among others. His paper titled “Examination of relationships among technology acceptance, student engagement, and perceived learning on tourism-related MOOCs” was awarded Best Paper 2023 by Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism (Taylor & Francis). 

Title: Central Bank Digital Currencies, Opportunities and Challenges to Financial/Economic Stability

Muhammad Ali Nasir, University of Leeds, UK

Short bio: Dr Muhammad Ali Nasir is an associate professor in Economics at the University of Leeds and visiting research fellow at the University of Cambridge. He holds a PhD in Economics and is greatly interested in the areas of Monetary Economics, Macroeconomics, Financial Economics and International Economics and Energy and Environmental Economics. His recent book is entitled “Off the Target: The Stagnating Political Economy of Europe and Post-Pandemic Recovery”. Dr Nasir is also the associate editor of the Journal of Environmental Management and Research in International Business and Finance. He is the guest editor of Energy Economics, Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Technological Forecasting and Social Change and the Risk Analysis. Currently, he is working on the challenges of macroeconomic policy formulation and issues around financial, economic and environmental stability, particularly in the Post- COVID-19 world.

Title: Identifying the key factors for positioning places in the tourism industry

José I. Rojas-Méndez, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada

Short bio: Dr. José Rojas-Méndez is Professor of International Business and Marketing at Carleton University's Sprott School of Busines, the Associate Editor (International Management) for the European Journal of Management and Business Economics, and the Editor-in-Chief of the Multidisciplinary Business Review. Dr. Rojas-Méndez’s research program is a robust combination of consumer behaviour and international marketing with three main interconnecting constructs—national brand personality in transitioning and developing countries; country wine personality; and understanding and measuring xenocentrism of consumers and employees in developing countries. He travels around the world to carry out his research and has collected data from over twenty-two countries in eleven different languages and cultures. Dr. Rojas-Méndez recognized an old construct but within a new framework—the phenomenon of xenocentrism (excessive admiration for anything foreign and at the same time, rejection of whatever is domestic) in developing and transitioning nations and his research program has him and his PhD student working on studies to elucidate the causes, moderating factors, and the consequences of xenocentrism. Moreover, he has developed a novel, highly effective scale, called X-Scale, that is reliable, valid, and multidimensional to define consumer preferences, which developing countries can use for identifying potential markets for business expansion at a global level.

Title: The Role of Investments in the Valuation of Cultural Heritage in the Context of Sustainable Development

Mariana Lupan, ”Stefan cel Mare” University, Suceava, Romania

Short bio: Mariana Lupan is a Professor at "Stefan cel Mare" University in Suceava, Romania. Her areas of interest include business investment strategies, investment policies, economic globalization, institutions and centers of economic power, and economic history. She has completed training programs in Slovenia, Scotland, Turkey, and England. Publications: author and co-author of seven books, with over 50 articles published in indexed journals; she has extensive experience in implementing research projects, as well as projects funded by non-reimbursable European grants and national funding sources.

Title: NORO Green Cities: Pioneering Urban Sustainability through Norwegian-Romanian Collaboration

Irina Gabriela Rădulescu, Petroleum & Gas University of Ploiești, Romania

Valentina Vasile, Institute of National Economy, Romanian Academy, Romania

Emanuela Modoran, Audit SRL / European DIH Wallachia eHUB, Romania

Short bio: 

Irina Gabriela Rădulescu is a Professor at Petroleum and Gas University of Ploiești, Romania. Her areas of interest include the European economy, international economics, business ethics, international trade, business administration, international entrepreneurial management, regional economic integration, political economy, management, and marketing. She is the author of 10 books and over 60 scientific papers presented at national and international conferences or published in indexed journals. She has extensive experience in implementing research projects.

Valentina Vasile is a Professor, holds a PhD in Economics, and is a Senior Researcher. She serves as Director of the Institute of National Economy at the Romanian Academy and teaches at Nicolae Titulescu University in Bucharest. She also acts as a PhD advisor. With extensive experience in economic research, she has participated in national and international interdisciplinary projects, focusing on topics such as labor economics, migration, human capital, the digital economy and employment, social policies, education, macroeconomics, sustainable development, resilience, and the circular economy. She has a strong record of international collaboration, serving as both coordinator and team member in interdisciplinary research projects funded by European funds, Horizon 2020, the SEE Program, Black Sea Basin ENI CBC, CEDEFOP, ILO, Eurofound, and various universities (e.g., Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo, Japan). Her work includes publications in scientific papers and books indexed in Web of Science, Scopus, and other international databases, and she also serves as a reviewer for several scientific journals.

Emanuela Modoran serves as the initiator and coordinator of the first Digital Innovation Hub in the region, instrumental in mobilising resources to establish the consortium for fostering the development of the digitisation innovation ecosystem.