Research
The aim of this team is to explore and propose research opportunities relevant to WBAA in collaboration with other WBAA teams or with other interested parties. In addition, this team also focuses on the promotion of research findings and recommendations, on seeking and advertising relevant research through the WBAA network and lastly on the support of other research efforts within the network.
This WBAA team which is made up of different partners, chooses to invest its capabilities with sincere motivation, in order to help improve the conditions of Western Balkans higher education. Working with a special focus on research and science, we utilise the connections to different EU institutions which we have been part of, as well as translating the learnings and experiences into the context of the Western Balkans.
Our vision is to establish WBAA researchers as significant contributors to the academic landscape and the economy in the Western Balkan region and in all of Europe. Ideally, we would like to create a graph with nodes and links – a network of interrelated entities which act with great independence to build functional connections and help grow and co-evolve the entire network.
Within this network we have no hierarchy. Everyone acts within their own professional & personal judgement and their highest standards.
If you would like to become a member of this team, please log into the WBAA Online Community and submit a join request to the following group: https://community.western-balkans-alumni.eu/page/view-group-profile?id=66
Team

Renata Petrevska Nechkoska
Head of Team
EmailRenata Petrevska Nechkoska has a double Ph.D. degree in Business Economics from Ghent University Belgium (UGENT) with a Ph.D. in Management at the Uni... more_vert
Renata Petrevska Nechkoskaclose
Renata Petrevska Nechkoska has a double Ph.D. degree in Business Economics from Ghent University Belgium (UGENT) with a Ph.D. in Management at the University St. Kliment Ohridski Bitola, North Macedonia (UKLO). She is currently an assistant professor at UKLO and postdoc at UGENT. She was practitioner, banker for a decade before joining academia. Since 2015 she is a European Commission evaluator for ICT open disruptive innovation scheme as well as an alumna of Harvard's Center for International Development PDIA and Elsevier Advisory Panel member. She is a project manager for academia and R&D at EUvsVirus hack/matchathon and leads an academia diffusion experiment in open collaboration with global co-authors and the European Innovation Council. Her research in tactical management has been her way to build bridges of multiple aspects: disciplines (information systems, management, etc.), countries (Western Balkans, EU), research methodology (Design Science Research, Action Design Research, etc.). Her work has been published as a book ‘Tactical Management in Complexity - Managerial and Informational Aspects, in the series ‘Contributions to Management Science’ https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-22804-0#toc. Her passionate engagement in science, education and practice is multimodal and inspired towards better Western Balkans aligned with a developed Europe and with the world. She was re-elected to this position within the WBAA teams in January 2022.

Klejda Harasani
Vice Head for Communication
EmailKlejda Harasani is currently Associate Professor at the University of Medicine, Tirana in Albania. After graduating with honours in “Pharmacy” a... more_vert
Klejda Harasaniclose
Klejda Harasani is currently Associate Professor at the University of Medicine, Tirana in Albania. After graduating with honours in “Pharmacy” at the University of Tirana, she completed her Master´s Degree in “Hospital and Community Pharmacy” from the University of Camerino, Italy. In 2015 she was awarded a Joint PhD cum laude by the University of Granada, Spain in “Clinical Medicine and Public Health” and the University of Medicine, Tirana in “Pharmaceutical Sciences”. Since 2013, Mrs. Harasani works as Lecturer and Researcher and has authored several peer-reviewed articles and scientific presentations. She has participated as leader and member in various international / regional projects and is part of WBAA since 2019. She has a demonstrated record as peer reviewer and contributes to the Editorial Boards of Health Expectations (Wiley) and Higiene y Sanidad Ambiental. Her current research interests include innovative teaching methods in higher education, academic integrity, patient safety and oncology. Being curious and eager to expand her knowledge, she is open to new ideas and collaborations. Fluent in English, Italian, Spanish and German. She has held this position within the WBAA Teams since January 2022.

Adelina Basholli
Vice Head for Advocacy
EmailAdelina Basholli is a young researcher with a demonstrated working history in academia and industry. She is finishing her Ph.D. studies at the Informa... more_vert
Adelina Basholliclose
Adelina Basholli is a young researcher with a demonstrated working history in academia and industry. She is finishing her Ph.D. studies at the Information School, University of Sheffield, U.K. while working to propose a sensor-based architecture to provide remote and continuous monitoring for chronically ill patients in developing regions. She is a highly motivated and hard-working person. For five years she managed to run three commitments at the same time, her full-time job as an Android developer, her part-time job as a lecturer in the Computer Science department, and her part-time Ph.D. studies. She is an Erasmus+ exchange staff between the University of Prishtina and the technical University of Wroclaw in Poland. Since then, she became part of the WBAA and joined the Research team where she is now deputy head of this team since September 2020. Given her working history and the combination of experiences in academia and industry, Adelina managed to implement a WBAA project and organized a conference to discuss the gap that exists between academia and industry in Kosovo, with the focus of updating teaching materials and curriculum.
Details of this event can be found here: https://www.western-balkans-alumni.eu/conference-on-bridging-the-gap-between-academia-and-industry/. She was re-elected to this position within the WBAA teams in January 2022.