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Mimi Urbanc, PhD

Deputy Director, Head of Research Office

+386 1 470 63 54

+386 1 425 77 93

mimi.urbanc@zrc-sazu.si



Main field
Deputy Director

Research fields
cultural landscapes, landscape representations, cultural geography, land use, common-pool resources, commons, collective actions

Other activities
Member of the editorial boards of the Geografija Slovenije and Georitem book collections and the scientific journal Acta geographica Slovenica, where she is also the area co-editor for human geography
Within the Association of Geographers of Slovenia, member of the Editorial Board of the popular journal Geografski obzornik (2003–2015), of the Press Committee (2002–2015) and the Presidency (2010–2017), Chair of the Awards and Prizes Committee (2010–2017, 2022–) and Chair of the National Committee (2010–2017).
Member of the ISCAR (International Scientific Committee on Research in the Alps) (2010–2021)
Member of the Multilingualism and language biases in research assessment working group of the CoARA (Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment), (2024–)
Editor of the Europe and Central Asia Assessment Reviews under the auspices of the Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (2018)
Head of the Advisory Board of the international SyCULTour project (2011–2014)
Editor-in-Chief of the book series Exploring Cultural Spaces of Europe, Peter Lang Publishers (2012–2019)
Member of the PECSRL ('Permanent European Conference for the Study of Rural Landscapes') Committee (2010–2017)
Member of the EUCALAND - European Cultural and Agricultural Landscapes network (2010–)
Member of EARMA - European Association of Research Managers and Administrators (2011–)
Member of La Rete Montagna (2017–)
Member of the Finance Committee of the LifeWatch Eric Network (2021–)
Guest Co-Editor, Acta Geographica Slovenica (2023)

Distinction of the Association of the Geographical Societies of Slovenia, 2001
Community of Goriče award, 1999
Prešeren Student Award, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, 1997
  • Urbanc, M., De Jong, S.  2025: Navigating societal impact: strategic management in Horizon 2020 SSH projects. Minerva : a review of science, learning and policy,  24 pages. DOI: 10.1007/s11024-024-09566-8.
  • Kozina, J., Stachowiak, K., Ciglič, R., Gašperič, P., Urbanc, M.  2024: European screen locations in the Indian flm industry: evolutionary, spatial, and collaborative perspectives. GeoJournal, 89,  155. DOI: 10.1007/s10708-024-11149-9.
  • Late, E., Guns, R., Urbanc, M. 2024: Beyond borders: examining the role of national learned societies in the social sciences and humanities. Learned publishing.  DOI: 10.1002/leap.1609
  • Šmid Hribar, M., Urbanc, M., Zorn, M. 2023: Commons and their contribution to sustaining Slovenian cultural landscapes. Acta geographica Slovenica 63-3. DOI: 10.3986/AGS.11591.
  • Tucker, C., Šmid Hribar, M., Urbanc, M., Bogataj, N., Gunya, A., Rodela, R., Sigura, M., Piani, L. 2023: Governance of interdependent ecosystem services and common-pool resources. Land Use Policy. 106575, 127. DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2023.106575.
  • Stachowiak, K., Janta, H., Kozina, J., Sunngren-Granlund, T. (eds.) (2023). Film and Place in an Intercultural Perspective: India-Europe Film Connections. London and New York: Routledge. DOI: 10.4324/9781003293347-6.
  • Pipan, P., Šmid Hribar, M., Urbanc, M. 2023: Motivation, robustness and benefits of water commons: insights from small drinking water supply systems. Acta geographica Slovenica 63-3. DOI: 10.3986/AGS.11592.
    Šmid Hribar, M., Hori, K., Urbanc, M. et al. 2023: Evolution and new potentials of landscape commons: insights from Japan and Slovenia. Ecosystem services 59, 101499. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoser.2022.101499.
  • Urbanc, M., Fridl, J., Resnik Planinc, T. 2021: Landscapes as represented in textbooks and in students' imagination: stability, generational gap, image retention and recognisability. Children's geographies, 19–4, 446-461. doi: 10.1080/14733285.2020.1817333.
  • Urbanc, M., Šmid Hribar, M. Livek 2021: A mountainous border area's transformation from a ski paradise to a resilient community. V: Martinez, Grit (ur.). Culture and climate resilience: Perspectives from Europe, Palgrave Studies in Climate Resilient Societies, Cham: Palgrave Macmillan,  45–68.
  • Urbanc, M., Šmid Hribar, M., Kumer, P. 2020: Culture in Slovenia. V: Perko, D. et al. (ur.) The geography of Slovenia : small but diverse, (World regional geography book series, ISSN 2363-9083). Cham: Springer Nature, 193-–208.
  • Rodela, R., Tucker, C., Šmid Hribar, M., Sigura, M., Bogataj, N., Urbanc, M., Gunya, A. 2019: Intersections of ecosystem services and common-pool resources literature : an interdisciplinary encounter. Environmental science & policy, ISSN 1462-9011, April 2019, Vol. 94, 72-–81 doi: 10.1016/j.envsci.2018.12.021.
  • Urbanc, M. 2013: Pokrajina v luči retoričnih figur v besedilih o slovenski Istri. Primerjalna književnost 36-2. Ljubljana.
  • Urbanc, M., Juvan, M. 2012: Na stičišču literature in geografije: literatura kot predmet geografskega preučevanja na primeru slovenske Istre. Slavistična revija 60-3. Ljubljana.
  • Urbanc, M. 2011: Pokrajinske predstave o slovenski Istri. Georitem 15. Založba ZRC, Ljubljana.
  • Palang, H., Printsmann, A., Konkoly Gyuró, É., Urbanc, M., Skowronek, E.,  Woloszyn, W. 2006: The forgotten rural landscapes of Central and Eastern Europe. Landscape Ecology 21-3.
Geography of Slovenia - national research programme (research programme • January 1, 2022 - December 31, 2027)

Education
B. Sc. in Geography and History, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, 1996
M. Sc. in Geography, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2002
Ph. D. in Geography, Faculty of Humanities, University of Primorska, Slovenia, 2007