Meet the team of Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization PAS

Stanisław Leszczycki Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences was founded in 1953 (initially as the Institute of Geography PAS). The Institute is an important research centre in Poland in the fields of socio-economic geography, physical geography as well as spatial organization. Within the framework of the Institute, the Central Library of Geography and Environmental Protection is operating, this being one of the largest library centres of the kind in the world. The Institute’s special asset is an active involvement in international scientific collaboration that, in recent years, have resulted in participation in more than 100 scientific and practical programmes and projects. In addition, in the last decade there have been ca. 200 national research and practical projects, expert evaluations, etc., which have been carried out by the Institute. Annual publishing output of Institute’s academicians comes to a total of 200 published items (e.g. peer-reviewed articles, monographs, notes, etc.), including Institutes’ journals (e.g. Geographia Polonica, Europa XXI) and publication series.

Konrad Czapiewski leads the SPOT project’s team of Institute of Geography and Spatial Organisation Polish Academy of Sciences. He is an Associate Professor at the Department of Rural Geography and Local Development. His broad research interest is human geography and particularly rural geography. He obtained the doctoral academic degree in 2010 and habilitation academic degree in 2021. Since 2003 he is an active member of the Main Board of Polish Geographical Society (six terms) and its Commission for Rural Areas. Since 2019 he is a member of the Main Board of Committee for Spatial Economy and Regional Planning, Polish Academy of Sciences. Since 2013 he holds the position of the editor-in-chief of the journal Studia Obszarów Wiejskich (Rural Studies). He authored or co-authored 114 publications, participated in 57 projects (granted by e.g. H2020, FP7, ESPON, World Bank, NCN, Erasmus+, Polish ministries and regions) and gave 120 conferences’ presentations (including 25 as a guest or keynote speaker).

Denis Cerić is a research assistant at the Department of Urban and Population Studies, Institute of Geography and Spatial Organisation Polish Academy of Sciences. His broad research interest is tourism geography, international cooperation and cross-border studies. For several years, he managed a production department in Atlas, the largest tour operator company in Croatia. For seven years, he was working as a lecturer at the Alcide de Gasperi University of Euroregional Economy in Józefów-Warsaw on several tourism-related subjects such as “Tourism destination – management and planning”, “Introduction to Tourism”, “Tourism Markets” and “Tourism Economics”. In the SPOT project he holds the position of Dissemination Manager.

Marcin Mazur is a member of SPOT project’s team and employee of Institute of Geography and Spatial Organisation Polish Academy of Sciences. He is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Rural Geography and Local Development. His research interest is quantitative methods in human geography (particularly in rural geography) and cartography. He obtained the doctoral academic degree in 2017, dissertation title: Cartographic method and the perception of the statistical map’s content. Since 2009 he is an active member of the Main Board of Polish Geographical Society and its Commission on Rural Areas. He holds the position of the cartographic editor of two journals: Studia Obszarów Wiejskich (Rural Studies) and Przegląd Geograficzny (Geographical Review). He authored or co-authored more than 70 publications, and participated in numerous projects (granted by e.g. H2020, FP7, ESPON, World Bank, NCN, Erasmus+, Polish ministries and regions).