Our PhD Students

Kinga Burek, born in 1995, is a painter, cartoonist and art historian; graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow and Art History Intitute of Jagiellonian University in Krakow. She was announced the Person of the Year 2020 at Krakow Art Salon; the winner of Special Award of 19th and 20th edition of the Hestia Artistic Journey contest; the finalist of 45th Painting Biennale Bielska Jesień 2021; awarded with BWA Ostrowiec distinction at Loostro 16 in 2023. Her thesis „Turning fiction into fiction and reality into fiction. Surreal contexts of Andrzej Pawłowski’s art in the optics of short stories by Bruno Schulz” received the Marian Sokołowski award in 2023.

In her PHD project She is carrying on research into issue das Unheimlichkeit in the contemporary society and how to use it to the research. Her artistic practice you can follow at Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/niejednemupsunaimie_burek/

A PhD student in literary studies. She is a graduate of Polish philology (with a specialization in editing) and Media Content & Creative Writing at the University of the National Education Commission in Kraków. In her master’s thesis, she analyzed the concept of the marvelous in the baroque diary of Jan Władysław Poczobut Odlanicki. Her doctoral research focuses on the dramatic works of Włodzimierz Perzyński from the perspective of the anthropology of everyday life.

I am a PhD student in social sciences in the discipline of economics and finance at the University Commission of National Education in Krakow.

I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in administration and a master’s degree with honors in social economy at the Pedagogical University of Krakow.

My scientific interests mainly concern social activation and participation. I expand these concepts as an active member of local social organizations: councilor of the Youth Council of the Wielka Wieś Commune (2014-2019); Vice-Chairman of KGW (2020-present); President of the “EkoKids” Association (2023-present)

Scientific research related to the doctoral dissertation is an extension of the research conducted in the scope of the master’s thesis and concerns Kół Gospodyń Wiejskich as a space for the development of economics and social entrepreneurship in Poland.

A PhD student of social sciences in the discipline of socio-economic geography and spatial management at the Pedagogical University of the National Education Commission in Krakow. A graduate of the Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree in the field of Tourism and Recreation and Master’s degree in Geography at the Pedagogical University of Krakow.
His research interests include the cultural landscape, cultural tourism, especially history tourism and military tourism, cultural heritage and interpretation of the cultural heritage. His dissertation concerns the cultural heritage and cultural landscape of the Lower Silesia as tourist attractions of the region in the context of post-World War II social changes.

Chiu Wei-Chun, born in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, has been a PhD student of the Political Science and Public Administration at the Pedagogical University of Krakow since 2022. Before studying in Poland, he worked in the TV news as a morning news anchorperson and a journalist. He is now a freelance correspondent, a translator and a tutor of Tâi-gí, one of Taiwanese languages once suppressed and discriminated.

Wei-Chun graduated from the Institute of Journalism at National Taiwan University; studied in the department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at National Chengchi University with a minor in Philosophy.

Research interests: media policy, political communication, theories of democracy, public media

MA and PhD student in biological sciences. Graduate of first- and second-cycle studies in biology at the Pedagogical University of the National Education Commission in Krakow. My research is conducted at the Department of Genetics and focuses on plant biology, with particular emphasis on the effects of environmental factors on photosynthesis. During my doctoral studies, I investigate the mechanisms of photosynthetic apparatus plasticity in the model semi-halophyte Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L. under osmotic stress conditions.

Mgr Adrianna Chorąży – she graduated with honors from the Jagiellonian University University 2018 with a MA in Interdisciplinary Individual Studies in the Humanities. She received her master’s degree defending her thesis Expressing herself, inventing the world. Narrativization of self-creative performance practices in the online reality of contemporary cyberculture (on selected examples). Currently, she is a graduate of the Doctoral School of the University of the National Education Commission, Krakow, where she is wrote doctoral dissertation on animal-centric narratives in prose in the second half of the 20th and 21st centuries under the supervision of prof. dr hab. Ryszard Nycz and dr hab. Marcin Urbaniak, prof. KEN. She published e.g. in Maska, Teksty Drugie, scholarship holder of the Ministry of National Education.

She submitted a doctoral thesis entitled “Obdarzanie troską. Reprezentacje zwierząt w literaturze od przełomu XX/XXI wieku w kontekście badań zookrytycznych”

On 17.12.2025r. the public defence of the doctoral thesis took place.

Information about the public defence and thesis https://bip.uken.krakow.pl/mgr-adrianna-chorazy/

Graduate of the University of Silesia in Katowice, M.A. in English Philology and in National and International Security. Ph.D. candidate in Security Sciences at the Pedagogical University of Krakow. Expert at the Institute of New Europe in Warsaw. Specialist in international security, her research interests include armed conflicts, the phenomenon of contemporary international terrorism, transatlantic relations, the Middle East and the involvement of Western countries and Russia in the region, as well as human rights and humanitarian aid. Her doctoral dissertation will cover the implications of the conflict in Afghanistan for international security.

I am a PhD student in the field of social sciences in the discipline of pedagogy at the University of the National Education Commission in Krakow. I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in social and caring pedagogy and a Master’s degree in pedagogy and pedagogical therapy. My previous research interests concerned on psycho-oncology and children’s cancer support, but currently I focus on research on education for Sustainable Development in European countries. Throughout my studies, I was active in the Institute Students’ Council, currently as the Chairwoman of the Nomination Committee at SD UKEN.

I am a doctoral student at the Uniwersytet Pedagogiczny im. Komisji Edukacji Narodowej in Cracow in the discipline of philosophy. I am a graduate of the Bachelor’s degrees in English and Philosophy and the complementary Master’s degree in Philosophy.

My doctoral thesis covers issues related to modern technologies such as, among others, artificial intelligence, from an ethical perspective. My research interests focus on issues of freedom and responsibility and on ontological and epistemological questions related to artificial subjectivity. In particular, these include aspects such as artificial consciousness, artificial intelligence, morality and value sensitivity of artificial subjects.

I am a doctoral student in the discipline of legal sciences at the Doctoral School of the University of the Commission of National Education in Krakow.

I completed my studies in law at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, defending my master’s thesis titled: ‘State aid in research, development and innovation’.

As part of my research at the Doctoral School, I continue my interests in issues related to competition law, including regulations on state aid, initiated during my master’s studies.

In addition to the above area, my scientific interests also include tax law (especially in the field of indirect taxes and tax transparency).

I am PhD student in the discipline of biological sciences at the University of the Commission of National Education in Krakow. I completed my undergraduate nad graduate degrees in biology at the Jagiellonian University.

In my researh project I want to evaluate the safety of powders used in 3D printing for pharmaciutical puroposes. It is a topic that combines various science disciplines, as well as my personal interests – biology and 3D printing.

Additionaly I’m interested in genetics and gameification of educational processes. I run my own buisness, that focuses on desiging boardgames and creating dedicated materials for gameification of educayion at a university level.

My name is Aleksandra Dudzik, and I am a doctoral student in the discipline of political science and administration. I graduated from I and II degree studies in social work at the University of the National Education Commission in Krakow.

My research interests are the development of social policy in Poland, in particular the area of social assistance after 1989, which became the subject of my doctoral dissertation. I intend to show the period of the aid system in Poland after the political transformation to the present time, divided into three stages: the shielding current, the activating trend and the service trend.

Since my first degree, I have been associated with the Institute of Social Affairs and Public Health, where I am currently privileged to conduct exercises for students. Professionally, I also fulfill myself as an educator at the Daily Support Facility

I am a PhD student in the field of biological sciences. I completed my undergraduate studies at the Jagiellonian University and my master’s degree at the Pedagogical University of Kraków, both in Biology, as well as engineering studies at the University of Agriculture in Kraków. I am particularly interested in cancer biology, especially central nervous system tumors, and molecular genetics. I have been deepening my knowledge and experience by working for seven years in a genetic laboratory, actively participating in research in the field of oncological molecular diagnostics and genome analysis. My doctoral research focuses on gliomas and their analysis based on the WHO classification.

I am a Master of Psychology and a PhD candidate in the field of Social Sciences in the discipline of Psychology at the UKEN Doctoral School in Cracow. I graduated in Psychology with a clinical speciality from the University of the National Education Commission in Cracow. My research interests lie at the intersection of cognitive psychology and neuroscience, with a particular emphasis on Autism Spectrum Disorder. My doctoral dissertation will be focused on the emotion recognition from music in autism. My research aims to explore the neural mechanisms underlying emotion processing from musical stimuli in autistic individuals.

PhD student at the UKEN Doctoral School (literary studies), graduate of Cultural studies, specializing in cultural texts and Literary criticism at the Jagiellonian University. Her research interests focus on the Chornobyl discourse, the concept of toxicity, environmental humanities, geopoetics, catastrophe theory, and post-traumatic and post-catastrophic narratives in contemporary literature. She is preparing her doctoral dissertation, which focuses on a comparative analysis of post-Chornobyl literature from the perspective of the concept of the post-Chornobyl library, the discourse of toxicity, and catastrophe theory.

A doctoral student in the humanities in the discipline of history. Graduated from Bachelor’s and Master’s studies with a specialisation in teaching history at the Institute of History and Archival Studies of the KEN Pedagogical University in Krakow.

Master’s thesis on the village of Zagorzyce, once owned by the Order of Canons Regular of the Guardians of the Holy Sepulchre, known in Poland as the Bożogrobcy or Miechowites. The doctoral dissertation will be an extension of the master’s degree, as it deals with the history of the twenty-five villages that make up the Miechów key of the bożogrobcy, including the peasant population living in the area.

His research interests include the history of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, the history of the Miechów area, the situation of the peasantry and the nobility in the modern period, as well as genealogy.

In addition to his doctorate, he is a teacher of history and social studies.

PhD student at the University of the National Education Commission in Krakow in the discipline of legal sciences and trainee advocate at the ORA in Warsaw.

As part of his doctoral studies, he pursues his academic interests in data protection law and commercial law.

He works as a lawyer in a law firm.

I am a doctoral student of the University of the National Education Commission in the discipline of political and administrative sciences. I graduated with a master’s degree in financial management and a bachelor’s degree in sociology. I completed my 1st and 2nd cycle studies at AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow. I am also a logistics technician and an administration technician. I have professional experience working in administration. My scientific interests concern political systems, political parties, social movements, political sociology, sociology of sport and public finances. My doctoral dissertation concentrates on the political effectiveness of anti-systemic groups in Poland in the 21st century.