Piotr Zmyślony considers himself a culture-centric man, so during his stay in Budapest he tried to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by the city. “Because of my scientific interests, many people might think that I was researching the nightlife in Budapest in my free time, but after work I was much more interested in galleries, museums and music clubs. For example, I attended a concert by Ravi Coltrane at the Bartók Béla Music Hall and I really enjoyed it when a Hungarian friend took me to plot 301 of the cemetery in Rákoskeresztúr, where I discovered many similarities between Hungarian and Polish history.”
He applied for the CIAS scholarship on the recommendation of a university colleague. He has also previously worked as a visiting professor at Corvinus and spent a professionally rewarding six months at CIAS. Piotr was attracted to Budapest not only by the personal recommendation, but also by the opportunity to collaborate with Hungarian colleagues researching his topic. He has previously followed the research of Ivett Pinke-Sziva, Melanie Smith and Gergely Olt, among others.
“In the months I spent in Hungary, I was mainly interested in how digitisation affects the economy and management of nightlife, and how this can be reconciled with a sustainable approach. Budapest is one of the most researched cities in that respect.” – says the Polish visiting researcher.
“Knowledge orientation and a modern urban academic spirit permeate the whole university. Even within the walls, you can feel the pulse and momentum of the downtown. In the community spaces, I met enthusiastic groups of students working on projects day by day. And at CIAS, they gave me all the tools I needed to focus exclusively on my research,” lists Piotr his impression of the university.
The Polish researcher has benefited professionally from the fact that the research centres of CIAS are at the forefront of research on digitisation, artificial intelligence, sustainability and networks.
In his view, the university is well on the way to creating a research ecosystem that will help researchers to achieve the highest quality international publications and scientific collaborations. As examples, he mentioned the software and databases available to all researchers at the university, and the data collection service set up to support researchers of Corvinus.
He felt practically at home in Budapest, where he found many similarities with the ‘Polish post-socialist positive urban atmosphere, where everything is always under construction or renovation’. The only thing he missed in the city was more green space, so he often visited Margaret Island and Városliget (the City Park).
As a cinema fan, he has been attending major European film festivals for years, with a particular interest in contemporary Czech, Romanian and Hungarian cinematography. He knows and loves the works of László Nemes, Ildikó Enyedi and János Szász. During his stay in Budapest, he was a regular guest at the Művész, Puskin and Tabán cinemas.
He has recently completed a six-month research study grants at CIAS. He felt that the last six months have been a productive period, with plenty of fruitful professional collaborations. He is also very confident that collaborations with Corvinus researchers will continue.
“I am interested in a broad spectrum of topics related to urban tourism, with a particular focus on the night-time economy. I am also open to cooperation in the digitisation of the tourism industry and in the small and medium-sized enterprise sector,” he says, listing the potential research topics he expects to be approached by researchers of Corvinus in the future.