Marcela Chreneková

Marcela Chreneková serves as Associate Professor and Head of Department at the Institute of Sustainable Regional and Local Development (FESRD) within the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra. With over a decade of academic leadership, she directs research and educational initiatives focused on sustainable regional development, social innovation, and rural policy frameworks across Slovakia.

Her scholarly focus spans several interconnected domains of regional development:

• Social entrepreneurship models in agricultural contexts
• Quality of life metrics in rural communities
• Social policy implementation at local government levels
• EU funding mechanisms for rural development
• Social agriculture as social innovation
• Depopulation challenges in Slovak regions

Dr. Chreneková has supervised 112 theses since 2011, mentoring students across 15+ Slovak regions to investigate localized development challenges. Her students' research consistently addresses practical applications of social innovation in regional contexts, with particular emphasis on social entrepreneurship, quality of life assessment, and policy implementation.

She leads multiple Horizon Europe and Erasmus+ projects including AGRI-CIRC SocInoLab, Models of social agriculture as tools to support inclusive growth, and Strengthening community food systems for inclusion and participation. Her grant portfolio demonstrates sustained engagement with EU research frameworks focused on rural innovation ecosystems.

As both educator and administrator, Dr. Chreneková teaches courses including Social Policy and Social Services, Rural Social Development, and Studio courses on local development management. Her leadership extends to coordinating knowledge transfer between academic research and practical implementation in Slovak regional development.