CZECH UNIVERSITY OF LIFE SCIENCES PRAGUE
Markéta Kalábová, Ph.D. is an assistant professor at the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague (CZU), Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences (FLD). She has graduated of Forest Engineering at CZU and of International Trade at University of Economics, Prague (VŠE) with her PhD thesis devoted to Hunting tourism in the Czech Republic and in international context. She worked as an assistant professor at the University of Economics in Prague, department of Tourism 2016–2021. Since 2019 she has been Vice-dean for Education at FLD, that is why she is willing to provide the newest methods of teching, relevant materials in languages to students to educate them in the most innovative way. In her research she focuses primarily on hunting tourism, alternative forms of tourism, sustainable tourism and environmentalism. She is memeber of Czech-Moravian Hunting Union and regularly participate in hunting tourism. She was coordinator of HUNTOUR project (Development of education in relation to the influence of ongoing climate change to hunting tourism) 2020–2023.
Tomáš Kušta, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor, Vice Dean for Science, Research and Doctoral Studies and member of the Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology at the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences (FLD). Guarantor of Game Management and Wildlife Conservation study programme at FLD. Lecturer of several other professional subjects in game management, present research interest in Road ecology, Sensory and behavioural ecology, wildlife biology, and game management. He was the investigator of several scientific projects dealing with protecting wildlife from collisions with cars on the roads and projects whose main topics were game management and wildlife management. He is a member of the Czech-Moravian Hunting Union.
Radim Löwe, Ph.D. is an assistant professor at the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague (CZU), Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences (FLD), where he focuses on teaching, research, and the promotion of forestry and game management. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Gamekeeping and Wildlife Management, with his thesis focusing on the monitoring of European badger (Meles meles) activity. As part of the Erasmus+ program, he completed a six-month study stay at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), where he specialized in wildlife census methods and game population management. He is actively involved in hunter education as a lecturer and examiner in hunting license courses and also serves as a trophy evaluator at game management exhibitions. He is a member of the District Hunting Council in Kolín under the Czech-Moravian Hunting Union and pursues game management in his free time as the chairman of a local hunting association in the Kolín hunting district, where he promotes responsible wildlife stewardship and landscape care.
UNIVERSITY OF NOVI SAD
Prof. Milosava Matejević, PhD is an associate professor at the University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Science, Departmant of geography, tourism and hotel management. She has graduated of Hunting tourism at this university, where she continued her PhD studies. Her PhD thesis was devoted to hunting tourism and cynology aspects of hunting tourism in Serbia. She has been working as an assistant at the Faculty of Science since 2015, as an assistant professor from 2016 until 2022, and as an associate professor from 2022. In her research she focuses on sustainable hunting tourism, sustainable hunting management, hunting dogs and outdoor activities. She participates in many international and national conferences. She has publications in national and international scientific journals and is currently a member of editor boards in one international scientific journals. Milosava was participant in international Erasmus+ project, and participated in outgoing staff mobility Erasmus+ programme in Czech Republic. Milosava is the president of Serbian Ladies Hunting Club “Artemida”.
Prof. Vladimir Marković, PhD is a full professor at the University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences – Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel management / Chair of Hunting tourism where he teaches in the area of Hunting Tourism and Wildlife management. He has more than one hundred scientific publications and is currently a member of reviewers boards of a few scientific journals. Vladimir has been holding various positions such as project manager or project administrator and has participated as a team member in few EU-funded projects (ERASMUS, IPA, SEE). He participated in several outgoing staff mobility programmes (Greece, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary and Croatia). His fields of interest are hunting tourism, outdoor activities, sustainable hunting as well as GIS (ArcGIS for Desktop, ArcGIS Online). He is a member of expert board of Hunting Chamber of Serbia, and member of Center for Spatial Information and Mountaineering association of Serbia. He actively collaborates with hunting organizations, hunting grounds, National Parks and hunting tourism agencies contributing to development of hunting and wildlife tourism. He is also actively engaged in organizing field work and professional practice for students of hunting tourism and adventure tourism.
Milutin Kovacevic, PhD is a assistant? professor at the University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences – Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel management / Chair of Hunting tourism where he teaches in the area of Hunting Tourism and Wildlife management. He graduated in 2009 and initially worked in hunting tourism at Diana and Lasarotta LTD agencies. He then pursued a master's degree in hunting tourism, which he completed in 2012. Following this, he joined the academic field as a teaching assistant and later as an assistant at the Department of Geography, Tourism and Hospitality. Since 2020, he has held the title of Assistant Professor. His fields of interest are hunting and active tourism. Throughout his career, he has published several scientific and professional works focusing on hunting and hunting tourism. In addition to his research, he is actively involved in national and international scientific projects. He is also actively engaged in organizing field courses and professional practice for students, with practical experiences offered in hunting grounds across Serbia, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, and North Macedonia. In 2022, he became a certified CIC Measurer (CCM), further expanding his expertise in the field of hunting tourism.
Igor Ponjiger, PhD, is a Research Assistant at the University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences. He is currently part of the Chair of Hunting Tourism within the Department of Geography, Tourism, and Hotel Management, where he contributes to various subjects related to wildlife management, outdoor tourism, and hunting tourism. Dr. Ponjiger has authored and co-authored over fifty scientific publications and has participated in multiple EU-funded projects, including ERASMUS and COST initiatives. As part of a staff mobility program, he has also visited and lectured at Palacký University in Olomouc, Czechia. His primary research interests lie in wildlife and sustainable resource management, as well as tourism, with a particular focus on outdoor, hunting, and rural tourism. Additionally, he maintains a broad interdisciplinary approach to research topics. He is a member of the?World Lagomorph Society.
Prof. Zoran Ristić, PhD, is a full professor at the University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Sciences – Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management, where he specializes in Hunting Tourism and Game Management. He obtained his PhD in 2004 with a dissertation on "Game Birds as a Part of Hunting Tourism in Vojvodina" at the same institution. His academic journey began at the University of Belgrade's Faculty of Forestry, where he completed his undergraduate (1980) and master's studies (1992), focusing on game population dynamics. Prof. Ristić has held various academic positions, progressing from assistant professor (2001) to full professor (2016). His research expertise includes hunting tourism planning, game breeding and conservation, and sustainable wildlife management. He has been involved in numerous projects related to hunting development, management plans, and conservation strategies. He teaches a range of courses and has been also engaged in international academic activities, with study visits to the Czech Republic in 1997. For his contributions to hunting and hunting tourism, he has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Silver Order of the Hunting Association of Yugoslavia (1986), the Golden Order of the Hunting Association of Serbia (1995), and various honorary plaques and medals from national and regional hunting organizations. In addition to his academic contributions, he actively collaborates with hunting organizations, contributing to strategic planning and wildlife conservation initiatives.
UNIVERSITY OF ZAGREB
Nikica Šprem, PhD. is a professor of wildlife management at the University of Zagreb. His research focuses on ungulate species, at the beginning of his career it was wild boar, but now the focus is on alpine ungulates such as chamois, European mouflon and Barbary sheep. He deals with topics such as population genetics, hybridization, ecology, behaviour and interspecific interaction. Nikica is the author of four scientific books and more than 130 scientific papers, of which is 95 articles in international impact journals (WOS), many of which have been published in the prestigious journals of these fields. He has also presented over 120 communications at international conferences. He is/was supervisor of 10 PhD theses, 1 postdoc and 26 Master theses. He has led several scientific projects, including the ongoing trilateral project of the Weave program “Wild boar fear of hunting: effects on space use, stress, and meat quality”. He is a member of the editorial boards of several international scientific journals. He actively participates in the commissions of the Croatian Ministry, such as the National Commission for Brown Bear Management and Wild Cat Management. He also participates in the work of the commissions of the Ministry of Science and Education. In 2021, together with Croatian Hunting Association, he is launching the initiative to establish the “Wildlife Gene Bank”, which is located within the Faculty of Agriculture. He is a lecturer for various undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate courses in hunting, wildlife management, wildlife biology, ecology, and conservation. He was elected as associate member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences (HAZU) and has received several awards, including the Croatian Hunting Association's gold medal “Saint Hubert” for special merits to the promotion of wildlife management and the University of Zagreb's annual award, Praemium Biotechnicum.
Andrea Rezić, PhD is a senior expert associate at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture. In 2011, she enrolled in a master’s program at the same faculty, specializing in fisheries and wildlife management, and graduated in 2014. In 2022, she completed a postgraduate program at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture in agricultural sciences, focusing on wildlife management. She began her professional career at the Faculty of Agriculture in May 2017 as an expert associate within the system of science and higher education. She has received scientific and professional training in population and conservation genetics at the University of Primorska in Slovenia, supported by CEEPUS and ERASMUS+ scholarships. Her current scientific interests include wildlife biology and ecology, population and conservation genetics, and geometric morphometrics. Andrea has contributed as a collaborator to two projects funded by the Croatian Science Foundation (HRZZ) and one Horizon 2020 project. She has authored and co-authored 12 scientific papers, 10 of which are classified as A1 publications and indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection. She is also the author or co-author of 12 scientific abstracts. She has actively participated in five scientific conferences in Croatia and abroad through oral presentations and poster sessions and has presented at two scientific-professional conferences with international participation.
Dario Biondić, M. eng. silv. is a expert associate at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture. In 2019, he enrolled in a master’s program at the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology and graduated in 2021 as Engineer of Forestry. Then in 2022, he enrolled in a postgraduate program at the University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture in agricultural sciences, focusing on wildlife management and animal behaviour. As an expert associate he works at implementation of projects and as an assistant manager of hunting grounds. At the same time, he works as professional hunting guide on different wild animals. In 2021 he finished course for Trophy processing and evaluation. He has co-autored 3 scientific papers. In 2025 he has received scientific and professional training in Observer XT software as a part of academic mobility in Czech Republic at Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences.
ARISTOTLE UNIVERSITY OF THESSALONIKI
Dr. Dimitrios Bakaloudis is a Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Management at the School of Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. He has over two decades of experience in wildlife conservation, focusing on vertebrate species, particularly birds, mammals, and reptiles. His academic journey includes a Ph.D. from the University of Reading, UK, and a sabbatical at the Swiss Ornithological Institute. Dr. Bakaloudis has authored more than 130 peer-reviewed publications, including journal articles, book chapters and conference proceedings. His research interests encompass biodiversity conservation, wildlife-human interactions, habitat modeling, and conservation policy. He has led and participated in numerous national and international research projects, contributing significantly to the understanding and conserving of endangered species and their habitats. He has also worked on game species, such as Turtle Doves, Common Quail, Red, Fox, Stone Marten, European Brown Hare, Wild Boar, Fallow Deer and Red Deer. As the Scientific Coordinator of the LIFE ATIAS project, he has been instrumental in implementing management strategies for the control of the American mink, an invasive-alien species in Europe. Dr. Bakaloudis has supervised 6 Ph.D. dissertations, 3 of which have been successfully completed, along with 13 M.Sc. theses, and more than 35 undergraduate diploma theses. His work has been recognized globally, with over 45,000 reads and 1,272 citations of his publications on ResearchGate. Dr. Bakaloudis continues to advance the field of wildlife ecology through his teaching, research, and active participation in conservation initiatives.
Dr. Evangelos Kotsonas is a forester in the Forest Service belonging to the Ministry of Environment and Energy (Greece), where he works in forest and game management. Also, he works as a researcher in the Department of Forestry and Natural Environment at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He has graduated at this university, where he continued his M.Sc. and Ph.D. studies. His Ph.D. thesis was devoted to the response of bird communities to anthropogenic and environmental factors in Mediterranean ecosystems. He has significant experience in wildlife ecology and management as he has participated in 20 European and national research programs and studies concerning the monitoring of wildlife species (birds, mammals), including game and invasive species, and their habitats. He has also published 24 papers in scientific journals, international and national conferences on the ecology of wildlife species, wildlife-habitat relationships, the impacts of human activities on wildlife and the conservation of rare species.