10. October 2007 11:57
ESF names Balázs Kiss head of Social Sciences unit
The European Science Foundation (ESF) has named Dr. Balázs Kiss from the Centre for Political Communications Research in Budapest as the Head of Unit for the Standing Committee for the Social Sciences. (SOC (formerly SCSS))
Dr. Kiss is currently the director and the founder of the Centre for Political Communications Research at the Institute for Political Sciences of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (IPS HAS). His career as an economist, a researcher in sociology and an expert in the field of political communication studies has spanned more than three decades.
“My main ambition is to serve European science in which I believe just like working for an international cooperation,” commented Kiss. “I will be happy if by the end of my employment at the ESF the European networks of social scientific collaboration are denser than today. I also see great potential in building closer connections between basic sciences on the one hand and economic and social actors on the other.”
The 48-year-old Kiss is no stranger to management and administrative responsibilities as he was appointed the head of the Department of Philosophy at Budapest University of Economic Sciences at a relatively young age of 32. He was later named vice-director of the IPS HAS.
Kiss said he is aspired to be a “reliable secretary” for the SOC (formerly SCSS) and to be “someone who knows the rules in details, who can help the everyday operation of the Committee. The past has taught me that I am quite good in respecting rules, which is a great help to others.”
Kiss also said he will be handling his job and communicate with people in particular under the aegis of two actions - talk and care.
“One should talk about problems, tensions, new tasks with those concerned because solutions, agreements, new ideas come up from talks mostly. And one also should take very thorough care of other people, and the organization where one works. It is important to empathize with the colleagues and contribute to the prosperity of the organization.”
Kiss said he draws inspirations from his own family – his two daughters and his wife who works as an economic historian – “we talk a lot on scientific questions. And I am also inspired by the experiences I have during my travels”.
As of 1 November 2007 Kiss will succeed Dr. Henk Stronkhorst, who joined the ESF in April 2002. Stronkhorst came to the ESF under a secondment arrangement from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), where he was Director of Social Sciences Research Council.
Since Stronkhorst joined the ESF in 2002 the membership of SOC (formerly SCSS) has increased significantly with scientists joining from the Central and Eastern European countries such as Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania. The MOCEE (Member Organisations in Central and Eastern Europe) programme was especially created to facilitate their needs. Under Stronkhorst’s leadership the SOC (formerly SCSS) has also engaged in various Forward Look projects, such as on the future of ‘Higher Education’ and on the theme of ‘Ageing, Health and Pensions’..
“I greatly enjoyed my work for ESF in general and the SOC (formerly SCSS) in particular,” said Stronkhorst. “I like to thank all the colleagues and contacts, both within and outside of the ESF, for the productive collaboration in the past five years and I wish Balázs Kiss success in the years ahead.”
For Kiss's cv click here
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