Board category: Aurora Board

doc. JUDr. Michael Kohajda, Ph.D. graduated from the Palacký University Olomouc (UP) Faculty of Law (UP FL) with a Master’s degree in Law and Legal Science. He obtained his doctoral degree and received his habilitation in Financial Law at the Charles University Faculty of Law. He has taught at UP FL for almost twenty years. Since 2020, he has held the position of Vice-Dean – (first for Doctoral Studies, Qualification Procedures, and Finances, including investments; currently he is Vice-Dean for External Relations and Investments). He is a member of the UP FL Scholarly Board and several other boards at the law faculties in Olomouc and Prague.

His research and publication activities focus on financial law, especially on public budgets, taxation, banking, insurance, and capital markets. His main professional interest involves financial system rules and supervision. In recent years, he has also focused on the legal rules related to the issuance and handling of crypto assets. Since 2024 he has been the principal investigator of the Czech Science Foundation standard project Crypto Assets as a Threat to Sovereignty. As regards international cooperation, he has undertaken a number of international research and teaching stays in Europe, the USA, and Australia. In addition to his academic activities, he has a successful legal practice.

In order to contribute to the development of society, he has been involved in politics. Between 2014 and 2022, he was a member of the Šumperk City Council, where he focused on budget policy and investments. In 2021, thanks to preferential votes, he won a seat in the Parliament of the Czech Republic for the Olomouc Region. He serves, among others, as a member of the Budget Committee in the Parliament. He was also a member of the Chamber of Deputies’ special investigative commission on the tragic event that took place at the Charles University Faculty of Arts in December 2023.

Born in El Perelló in 1967, he has been General Director of Universities and General Director of University Planning and Research of the Generalitat de Catalunya (2016-19) and, at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Vice-Rector for Academic Policy and PDI (2014-16), Vice-Rector of PDI (2008-14), Vice-Rector for Transfer and Innovation (2006-08) and Director of the Department of Electronic Engineering, Electric and Automatic (2000-06).

With a background as Chief Technology Officer at FrieslandCampina and extensive involvement in international research collaborations, she spearheads initiatives for enduring societal impact. Her leadership highlights VU Amsterdam’s dedication to scientific excellence and global engagement, committed to addressing global challenges.

Professor Jón Atli Benediktsson was elected Rector of the University of Iceland and President of the Governing Council in July 2015. Prior to taking office Jón Atli Benediktsson was a professor in the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He was the Pro-Rector for Science and Academic Affairs from 2009 and served in various other administrative capacities within the University of Iceland.

Professor Benediktsson received his Ph.D. in 1990 from Purdue University, USA. His research focuses on remote sensing, image analysis, signal processing and biomedical engineering. He has published over 300 papers and book chapters in his field. Professor Benediktsson is the Chair of the Icelandic Rectors´ Conference and sits on the council of the European University Association. Jón Atli was elected President of the Aurora Universities Network in 2020 and re-elected in 2022.