Scientific Committee.

prof. Ing. Tomas Kliestik, PhD.

University of Žilina · Head of the Department of Economics

Prof. Ing. Tomas Kliestik, PhD., is a prominent scientist and internationally recognized expert in the application of mathematical and statistical methods in financial management and finance, with a particular focus on operational research and econometrics. He serves as the Head of the Department of Economics at the Faculty of Operation and Economics of Transport and Communications, University of Žilina, Slovak Republic. His scientific and research activities focus on five fundamental areas of financial management: (i) financial health prediction, (ii) earnings management, (iii) cost of capital, (iv) risk quantification and diversification, and (v) optimization of corporate performance through tax shields. In recent years, in response to ongoing societal and technological transformations, he has concentrated on the economic aspects of digitalization, the smart economy, and artificial intelligence. His current research particularly explores the adoption of artificial intelligence in business and society, its impact on corporate performance and decision-making processes, and the development of AI-driven analytical models for economic and financial applications.

He has led research teams in numerous national and international projects and is a member of several scientific councils in Slovakia and abroad. He also serves on the editorial and review boards of a number of renowned indexed and impact-factor international journals. He is a member of the American Economic Association, the American Association for Economic Research, the Royal Economic Society, the World Economics Association, and the European Economic Association.

Furthermore, he is the guarantor and editor of the proceedings of the largest international scientific conference in the field of social sciences in Slovakia and Central Europe, “Globalization and its Socio-Economic Consequences.” In 2019, he received the prestigious Best Researcher Award at the University of Žilina. In 2020, he was awarded the Literary Fund Award in the category of scientific and professional literature and computer programs for his three-year scientific contribution to the social sciences. Several of his publications have received the prestigious Highly Cited Paper distinction, while others have been recognized as Hot Papers in the Web of Science database.

He regularly publishes his research in leading international journals issued by renowned academic publishers, including Springer, Elsevier, Taylor & Francis, Oxford University Press, John Wiley & Sons, Cambridge University Press, and others.

prof. univ. dr. Elvira NICA

Bucharest University of Economic Studies · Dean, Faculty of Administration and Public Management

Full professor at the Bucharest University of Economic Studies, ranked 351–400th in the world and in the top 501–550 internationally, and in second place in Romania in the Business and Management subdomain, and the dean of the Faculty of Administration and Public Management. PhD coordinator since 2016, is a leading scientist in management and economics, with a focus on human resource management and its strategic aspects, as well as modern aspects of smart economies, using current advanced research methods, mathematical and statistical models in her scientific research.

Doctor Honoris Causa at the University of Žilina, Slovakia, at the proposal of the Faculty of Operation and Economics of Transport and Communications and a member of the Departmental commission of doctoral studies in the study field of economics and management of the Faculty of Operation and Economics of Transport and Communications, University of Žilina, Slovakia (since 2020).

Highly Cited Scholar in the Web of Science databases, SCOPUS, with international and national awards won for publication work. Her WoS H-index is 12 and SCOPUS H-index 29. She was also listed in Stanford University's "Top 2% Scientists in the World" for four consecutive years (2019–2022). She has published 180 WoS, Scopus and IDB articles and 21 specialty books, 6 chapters in collective volumes published abroad. She collaborated with the most well-known international publishers such as Elsevier, Springer, Taylor & Francis, John Wiley.

She is Senior Research Fellow of some national and international research institutes, part of numerous scientific boards of national and international scientific events, lead international journals indexed in databases and is part of the editorial boards of such journals. She is a member of prestigious international scientific or professional associations.

She is a reviewer for international WoS journals such as: SAGE Open, Economies, Mathematics, Computers, Sensor, Administrative Sciences, Cybernetics and Systems, Plos One, Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, Sustainability, Smart Cities, Coatings, Electronics, Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering, FinTech, International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, Buildings, Applied Economics Letters, Cryptography, Heliyon, IEEE Access, Agronomy, Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja. Full Member of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society.