CEU Prof Martin Kahanec elected VP to Academia Europaea Board to advance Social Sciences program
Academia Europaea, an organization that encourages collaboration among its 5,500 members to address future academic and societal challenges and advises European scientific bodies and governments, has appointed Professor Martin Kahanec, from the Department of Public Policy at the Central European University (CEU) in Vienna, Austria, to its Board. He is the new Vice President and Chair of its Class for Social and Related Sciences.
Starting a five-year term at the turn of the year, Kahanec will support Academia Europaea’s mission to promote interdisciplinary dialogue, be an expert voice, and engage with emerging trends, such as the evolution of technology-heavy so-called ‘4th-generation’ universities. These champion an integrated approach to education, research and innovation, with a strong focus on scientific outreach for regional development and to support innovation-based economic growth among communities.
Professor Kahanec is Director of The Shattuck Center for Human Rights at CEU and leads its Department of Public Policy. He succeeds the Swedish scholar, Professor Björn Wittrock, as Vice-President of Academia Europaea and in leading its Class for Social and Related Sciences.
The Academy, founded in 1988 and based in Germany and the UK, has 88 Nobel laureates among its membership and three other Classes, covering the Humanities, Natural Sciences, and Life Sciences. The overall operations are managed by a ten-member Board of Trustees, which now includes Kahanec.
The Professor was elected by his peers at the 36th Annual Meeting of Academia Europaea members, held last quarter in Wroclaw, Poland. Upon taking his office in January 2025, he said: “Being elected to the leadership of Academia Europaea is a profound personal commitment. But it’s also a recognition of the sustained and systematic efforts of the research teams I have worked with at the Central European University (CEU) in Vienna and elsewhere [over the years].”
His key aims are to advance Academia Europaea’s strategic positioning as a global scientific authority via active participation in scientific advisory bodies such as the European Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM) and the Science Advice for Policy by European Academies (SAPEA) body. These provide independent scientific evidence and policy recommendations to the European Commission (EC), Parliament, and Council.
The Academy also represents the European Union (EU) in the S20 format, a scientific platform within the G20 group of the world’s largest economies.
The professor is also keen to safeguard academic freedom and institutional resilience, particularly in the context of any backsliding from democratic norms, and to advocate for the independence and integrity of academic institutions worldwide.
Background
Kahanec’s main research interests are economic policy, labor and population economics, migration, EU mobility, ethnicity, and reforms in European labor markets. He has held several advisory positions and leading roles in a number of scientific and policy projects with the World Bank, the EC, European Parliament, European Court of Auditors, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and other international and national institutions.
He is a member of the Council of the Government of the Slovak Republic for Science, Technology and Innovation as well as a former member of the Scientific Board of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic.
He is also a former member of the national Covid-19 Economic Crisis Management Council at the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic and was a key member of the Minister's advisory council (2020-2021). His vast experience will help to advance the Academy’s aims to foster greater collaboration and consultation among scientific peers, businesses and governments to foster growth.
