Michał Piotr Wanke

Michał Piotr Wanke serves as Assistant Professor and Head of the Department of Cultural Studies at the University of Opole. He joined the institution initially in the PR office before progressing through academic roles: teaching and research assistant, then assistant professor at the Institute of Sociology, and finally transitioning to the Department of Cultural Studies in 2020 where he assumed departmental leadership in 2025.

He earned his PhD in 2017 from Jagiellonian University in Krakow.

Dr. Wanke's research spans critical areas including cannabis user cultures, drug abuse prevention frameworks, migration dynamics, and transnational social remittances. His methodological expertise combines traditional qualitative approaches with innovative arts-based and visual methodologies, reflecting his commitment to interdisciplinary sociological inquiry within European and global contexts.

His notable professional recognition includes:

• Co-creation of the Intercultural Communication MA programme, honored with the Polish Accreditation Committee's 'open to the world' distinction

Research funding achievements:

• Three competitive grants from the Polish National Bureau of Drug Prevention (2012-2017)
• Polish National Research Council Miniatura 7 grant (2023-2024) for cross-national cannabis user research in Poland and Turkiye
• Post-doctoral position in Horizon Europe's PREMIUM_EU project at Krakow Economic University (2023-2025)

With 39 publications and special journal issue editorships, Dr. Wanke co-organizes the SPOTLIGHT summer school (since 2022) which uniquely integrates documentary filmmaking with sociological fieldwork. He maintains active membership in the Polish Sociological Association, European Sociological Association, European Society for Social Drug Research, and Association of Internet Researchers.