Ing. Oliver Rafaj, PhD.

Participation in conducting (leading) the most important research projects or art projects over the last six years

CA18214 The geography of New Working Spaces and the impact on the periphery (https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA18214/). The focus of the project is oriented on identification of New Working Spaces (such as coworkings, makerspaces, fab labs and others) in urban and rural regions. The main aim of the project is to describe relations between these organizations and surrounding actors.

ERASMUS+ (DIGI-SOC) Digital skills and cross-domain entrepreneurship for societal challenges (DIGI-SOC) No. 2021-1-PL01-KA220-HED-000027649. The partnership decided to apply for this project given that it offers an optimal framework to address the needs that are shared by all participant organisations: develop transnational cooperation to foster innovative curricula promoting crossentrepreneurial mindsets and competences around digital skills, while doing so with a pan-European perspective that is inclusive and that introduces in the curricula a global approach which, while tackling local challenges, addresses common needs at a European level. The project offers a platform to work around these aspects and it offers the possibility to enrich a new paradigm in which HEIs work in strong partnerships to improve competences in curricula with a EU transnational approach.

APVV-19-0263 Possibilities of application of methods and tools of "smart governance" on local and regional level (https://nhf.euba.sk/en/49-veda-a-vyskum/aktualne-projekty/3-1-2-domestic-research-projects-from-grant-schemes-vega-apvv-kega/1442-moznosti-aplikacie-metod-a-nastrojov-smart-governance-na-lokalnej-a-regionalnej-urovni). The project is focused on identifying suitable tools of smart governance and their application in the selected city and self-governing region. The aim of the project is to improve the public service provided by the city or self-governing region through the application of a selected smart governance tool.

APVV-14-0512 Universities and the economic development of regions (https://www.apvv.sk/buxus/docs/zk/zk-apvv-14-0512.pdf). Project was focused on the identification of economic impacts of universities on their surrounding actors.

VEGA 1/0774/19 The accumulation of human capital in regions – economic and social consequences (https://nhf.euba.sk/49-veda-a-vyskum/aktualne-projekty/domace-vyskumne-z-grantovych-schem-vega-apvv-kega/715-akumulacia-ludskeho-kapitalu-v-regionoch-ekonomicke-a-socialne-dosledky). Project is focused on the identification of economic and social consequences of the accumulation of human capital in urban and rural regions.

VEGA 1/0249/22 Coworking spaces and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic – opportunities for urban economic development. The project is focused on investigating coworking spaces and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on their operation.

VEGA 1/0384/23 The evolution of university knowledge creation in EU regions. The project is focused on researching the creation of knowledge by universities in EU regions.