Lada Kaliská

Dr. Lada Kaliská serves as Associate Professor and Vice-Dean for Science, Research, Arts and International Relations at the Faculty of Education, Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica. She has been affiliated with the Department of Psychology since 2005, holding progressive leadership roles including Deputy Head of Department (2013-2021) and current Vice-Dean position since April 2021. As guarantor of the bachelor's psychology program since 2016, she coordinates Erasmus mobility and serves on the Faculty Working Group for Human Resource Strategy for Researchers (HRS4R).

Her research centers on emotional intelligence with over 15 years of collaboration with University College London (K.V. Petrides) and City University of New York (John Pellitteri). Key research areas include:

• Emotional intelligence construct validation across cultural contexts
• Moral and multiple intelligence development in educational settings
• Learning styles assessment for students and adults
• Critical thinking development through Philosophy for Children methodology

Her recent publications show strong focus on emotional flexibility as mental health protective factors (VEGA 1/0569/22 project) and regional analysis of youth NEET situations (2024 project).

Dr. Kaliská has received the Rector's Prize 2022 for her Routledge-published monograph and led three projects recognized for excellent results. She serves as National Coordinator for the International Society of Emotional Intelligence and regional guarantor for Central and Eastern Europe, while maintaining editorial board positions for six international journals including Current Trends in Educational Science and Practice and The New Educational Review.

As project leader or deputy, she has successfully managed 17 research initiatives including seven major projects, with current involvement in VEGA, APVV, and KEGA-funded studies. Her international collaborations span the UK, USA, Czech Republic, and Poland, with particular emphasis on cross-cultural emotional intelligence research and educational applications.