New Group of Researchers Joins CMDS

Our Center welcomes five researchers who joined our team as interns to work on various projects.

They are conducting research work in line with the common methodology of the projects. They collect and tabulate data, carry out interviews, write analytical reports and feed into the projects’ outputs.

“The presence of these young researchers in our team is extremely important for many reasons, but two stand out: not only that they do high-quality work, but they also bring a fresh perspective to how media and journalism should be studied, regulated, thought about,” said Marius Dragomir, the Center’s Director.

MEET THE NEW INTERNS

Laith Abdulhadi is currently a student of Political Science at McDaniel College, Coming from a volatile region, he understand how misinformation and media bias affects people and perspectives, therefore he dedicate himself to truth and reason. Previously he worked with UNHCR External Relations and he was able to reach 10,000,000 people through the Snapchat/World Refugee Day initiative. 

Laith will work on the Media Philanthropy: People and Impact project.

Mohammad Abu Hawash is enrolled at CEU's School of Public Policy, where he is pursuing a Master's degree in Public Administration and Sectoral Policy. His main areas of interest are Arab politics (particularly Palestinian affairs) and the political economy of the Levant sub-region of the Arab League. Other interests include Ottoman and Islamic history (and history in general), as well as entrepreneurship.

Mohammad will work on the Media Influence Matrix project.

Olesya Grabova is a recent Central European University graduate, where she obtained an MA in Political Science specializing in Political Economy. Her research interests cover political violence, social psychology, and the impact of media on public opinion in Eastern Europe. She got some experience in journalism and research during internships in Hromadske TV and VoxUkraine in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Olesya will work on the Media Influence Matrix project.

Matteo Trevisan is an Italian researcher dedicated to Freedom of Expression and Information. He holds an MA in Interdisciplinary Research and Studies on Eastern Europe from the University of Bologna, Kaunas and Saint Petersburg, and a BA in Political Sciences, Social and International. After graduating, he worked as one of the editors, researchers and curators of the Resource Centre on Media Freedom lead by Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT) within the project European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF). Previously he moved to Belgrade to experience a traineeship at the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia (IJAS), where he participated in the analysis of Serbia’s progress in the EU negotiation process, especially in relation to Action Plan for Chapter 23 with regard to Freedom of Expression. Besides the FoE/I-related work, he is particularly attentive to the challenging dynamics affecting the post-socialist enlargement of the EU, such as the controversial transitional processes, the persisting ethnic conflicts, migration and the rights of minorities.

Matteo will work on the Media Influence Matrix project.

Lindsay Wojtula is completing an International MA in Economy, State and Society from Charles University Prague and University College London specializing in Politics and Security. She also completed an MA in Applied Linguistics from the University of Birmingham in 2017 and a BA in International Relations from the University of British Columbia. Prior to joining the CMDS team, Lindsay worked for the British Council in Amman, Jordan as an English teacher, and also has worked in Vietnam, Ukraine, South Korea and Syria. She has recently completed an internship at the Prague Security Studies Institute where she was working on a project outlining the Business Model of Platforms Spreading Disinformation. Through this opportunity she wrote on different civil initiatives aimed at demonetizing platforms in the US and UK, as well as different actors and purposes behind disinformation in the private sector.

Lindsay will work on the Media Influence Matrix project.