Zoltán ILLÉS

Zoltán Illés is Academic Assistant for the Department of European Transformation and Integration Studies (ETI) on the Tirana campus of the College of Europe (2024-). Previously, he served as Academic Assistant for the Academic Administration Office of the Bruges campus as part of the team tasked with creating the academic program for the then not yet operational Tirana campus (2023-2024).

Zoltán grew up in Hungary and studied in Norway. He graduated with Cum Laude from the University of Rochester in the United States with a BA in Economics and International Relations. He obtained his first master’s degree in International Economic Policy from Sciences Po Paris. He obtained his second master’s in European Interdisciplinary Studies with a thematic major in European History and Civilization on the Natolin campus of the College of Europe, where he graduated with the highest average within his major and was recognized by the College for an “Outstanding Master’s Thesis in the Field of European History and Civilization” and with the “Martin Sojer Memorial Prize for the Best Thesis on a Topic Related to Economics and Finance”. He has been involved in US-based think tank European Horizons and Hungarian educational NGO UWC Hungary. He also participated in exchange programs and short-term internships in Russia, Estonia, Belgium, and Hungary.

Fields of interest:

International relations theory; Political economy of the Eastern Bloc; Economic history of the Cold War

Scholarly publications:

“Economic policy debate in Kádár’s Hungary”, In Six selected Master's theses by College of Europe students, edited by George Mink. De Europa – European and Global Studies Journal 5th Special Issue (2023), ISBN: 9788875902858.