Source: private photography of M.G. Maranges

Interview with Dr. Marc Giménez Maranges (scholarship holder of the Action Austria - Slovakia Programme)

Marc Giménez Maranges is a young scientist from the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg who received a scholarship for his research stay at the Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica in the framework of the Action Austria - Slovakia programme.

Dr Maranges, can you tell us something about yourself and the research topic you are working on?

I am a Postdoc at the Department of Environment & Biodiversity of the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (Salzburg, Austria). My main research focus lies on the analysis of socio-technical transformations in the management of urban stormwater. I am really interested in societal changes towards sustainability. Thus, my research has paid particular attention until now to current opportunities and challenges for change, as well as to strategies to make the transformation possible, from both a social and a technical perspective. This has implied the engagement in interdisciplinary approaches, applying methods and concepts of both physical geography and sociology. This includes analyses of the technical quality of implemented stormwater systems, bio-physical opportunities for change, and prevailing knowledge and power-related barriers. Despite my prevailing focus on transformations in urban stormwater management, I intend to open up to explore other sustainability-related topics, such as changes in mobility. At the moment I am starting a project in this latter field.

Source: private photography of M.G. Maranges - Čierny VáhSource: private photography of M.G. Maranges - Čierny Váh

Why did you decide to come to Slovakia and why did you choose the University of Banská Bystrica (UMB) for your research stay?

I was looking for a research experience abroad that could enrich myself as a researcher and constitute a new stimulating personal experience. I had long wanted to spend some time in a Slavic country, in order to submerge for the first time into a Slavic culture and learn some words of a family of languages that remain unknown for me until then (I have always been interested in languages). So, when I saw the opportunity to do a research stay in Slovakia, I did not think it twice. The ease to reach the country by public transportation from Austria, the fact that we share the same currency (which makes any financial aspects easier) and, at the same time, the cultural divergences existing between Austria and Slovakia did make Slovakia an appealing option for me. The ease to apply for a scholarship needs to be added. This includes both the ease of the application process (which is really straightforward) and the openness of the programme to applicants under different employment conditions in their respective universities. Other programmes do not offer opportunities to early-career researchers with unstable and marginal employment positions. This is unfortunately the financial situation in which many Austrian early-career researchers find themselves (including me at the moment of application). The programme offered me, therefore, an amazing opportunity to have an enriching experience in a new stimulating location and, at the same time, a financial relief.

Regarding the university where I stayed, I did not have any preference for any particular institution before application. I was looking for someone that has similar research interests as me, no matter the university where they are based. I contacted and talked with a Slovak researcher in sociology that I found through a review of papers reporting cases of sustainability transformation in Slovakia. She recommended me to get in touch with colleagues at the University of Banská Bystrica (UMB), who were very open to work together with me on the topic of transitioning in urban stormwater management. Moreover, they reported that some changes were starting to occur in the city of Banská Bystrica regarding my research topic, which made the need for research on the topic highly needed and the possibility to do some work there even more stimulating. The shared research interests with the research institution and the starting transformation processes at the city level made the UMB a perfect place for my stay.

Source: private photography of M.G. Maranges - Banská BystricaSource: private photography of M.G. Maranges - Banská Bystrica

How was your stay in Slovakia, at the UMB? What was life like in Banská Bystrica, the city in the heart of Slovakia?

Banská Bystrica is a relatively small and calm city surrounded by hills at the gateway to the Low Tatra Mountains. The setting was just perfect for me. I have never liked big cities for living; so, I really enjoyed the calm atmosphere, the closeness to nature and the fact that you can reach everywhere within the city without even needing to use public transportation (i.e., on foot). The city is surrounded by hills. Thus, there are plenty of hiking opportunities. Historically speaking, it is also a very interesting city with plenty of places to explore. I really liked the fact that it is located in the heart of the country. This makes it a very convenient location to explore the country. The west, east, north and south of Slovakia can all be reached in a reasonable time by public transportation.

The stay at the UMB went very well and was a very enriching experience. The colleagues at the UMB were extremely friendly and welcoming and help me a lot to settle down and enjoy my stay to the fullest. They were additionally very motivated to cooperate in the planned research. The communication with them was always very smoothly. We were regularly discussing the different research steps together and they offered me tones of help when it came to use Slovak databases and engage local stakeholders in the tasks planned. Working with them was an amazing chance to learn new perspectives, methodologies and approaches in research and exchange ideas on my research topic.

In which language did you communicate at the Slovak institution? Did you notice any language barriers or did communication go smoothly?

The language that I was always using was English. All colleagues with whom I was regularly working speak very good English. Thus, the communication went very smoothly. I experienced some language barriers when local stakeholders had to be engaged in research, especially local residents. This can be extended to some daily life situations, because many people cannot speak English or German in the area. However, the colleagues at UMB provided me a lot of support in this regard. Therefore, this ended up not being an issue. For me, it was actually also an opportunity to learn some Slovak words, which I really enjoyed doing. It was a great opportunity to learn some words in a Slavic language and learn about Slovak culture.

Source: private photography of M.G. Maranges - ČičmanySource: private photography of M.G. Maranges - Čičmany

How did your stay in Slovakia contribute to your research? Was this stay important for your future career and academic development?

The research that I conducted during my stay in Slovakia built on my already existing research experience. During my PhD studies, I had developed similar research in Austria and Southern France. The stay in Slovakia enabled me to enrich this already existing experience with the acquisition of new perspectives and the learning of new research methods. Among others, I could gain new perspectives and ideas upon possibilities for transformation in a different socio-cultural context (the Slovak context) from both the Slovak colleagues at UMB and all local stakeholders that I had the chance to meet.  This made it possible to widen my perspective upon the complexity and diversity intrinsic to sustainability transformation processes, and the diversity of methods available to investigate and support them. This alone was a very relevant learning that will highly contribute to my academic ambition to investigate and support pathways for change in different socio-cultural environments in the future.

Very noteworthy is the fact that I had the chance to put into practice for the first time a research methodology (co-creation) that I would like to make a central axis of my future work. Together with my Slovak colleagues, we organised a workshop for the co-design of sustainable stormwater management solutions in Banská Bystrica and the discussion of windows of opportunity for change. This involved different local stakeholders. This was a great opportunity to learn first-hand from the experience of the colleagues at UMB in the organisation of such an event and from the discussions and remarks made by participants. These highly valuable learnings will be the basis for the development of similar co-creation processes in other locations, as planned in other projects that I am starting now. Overall, the stay enabled me to exchange perspectives, ideas and research methods that will be very valuable for my future research career.

Source: private photography of M.G. Maranges - Banská BystricaSource: private photography of M.G. Maranges - Banská Bystrica

Did the scholarship from the scholarship programme cover your expenses in Slovakia?

The scholarship covered all the expenses that I had in Slovakia. I really would like to thank the SAIA and the OeAD for the provided financial support. Thank you very much for this great opportunity!

Would you recommend the programme's scholarship and the stay in Slovakia to other students, PhD. students, university teachers or researchers from Austria?

I highly recommend university students, teachers and researchers from Austria to use the opportunity that is offered by the programme’s scholarship. There is so much that we can learn from and exchange with our Slovak counterparts! Apart from the great personal experience that a stay in a different cultural environment can be in itself, it is an unequalled chance to get to know and work with very motivated colleagues with different visions and knowledge. In the area of ​​sustainability, it is noteworthy that Slovakia represents a different context than Austria in terms of the transition to sustainability. This makes any exchange between Slovak and Austrian researchers and students very enriching and necessary for both sides, in order to enable transformative pathways in both countries.

What are your plans for the future?

My main aim for the future is to develop research that can have an impact in sustainability transformations. This is the reason why I would like to make co-creation a major axis of all my future research activities. This ambition is shared with that of colleagues at UMB, when it comes to contribute to changes in urban stormwater management. As a result, one of the most immediate results of my stay at UMB will be to sign an Erasmus+ agreement between our respective universities (UMB and Paris Lodron University of Salzburg). We hope that this will facilitate our future cooperation in the production of research and support for change in this exciting field. We both share the willingness to carry on working together after a very enriching and fruitful collaboration during my stay in Banská Bystrica.

 

Get informed about the scholarships of the Action Austria- Slovakia:

Action Austria - Slovakia, Cooperation in Science and Education