Currently, Dr. Albana Veseli works as a lecturer and researcher at the University of Pristina in Kosovo and has a long experience in cooperation with Austrian universities. In 2007 she received the first OeAD scholarship to spend one month as a Master student at the University of Graz. After that she continued her academic mobility as a Master and PhD student. In 2008, 2009 and 2010 she was supported by the Central European Exchange Programme for University Studies (CEEPUS) for her research projects at the Institute of Analytical Chemistry, Karl-Franzens University Graz.
In 2010, she received a grant from the Join EU-SEE programme and was funded for 10 months as a doctoral student from the Western Balkans, where she completed her doctoral studies at the University of Graz and the University of Tirana as a joint study programme.
After her doctoral studies, she continued her cooperation with higher education institutions in Austria when she received a grant from the HERAS+ programme in 2021 for a three-month stay at the University of Vienna as a post-doctoral researcher.
In June 2023, she received another HERAS+ grant for three months to continue her postdoctoral project entitled ''Developing electro-active molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles (nanoMIP)'' at the Institute of Physical Chemistry, University of Vienna. Through her stay she carried out the chemical synthesis of nanoMIP, their characterisation using advanced methods such as Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Infrared Spectroscopy (IR) and finally their application as analytical tools for antibiotic analysis using electrochemical sensors based on Screen Printed Electrodes (SPE). The experience of working with well-equipped laboratories was very important for her as a young teacher and researcher at her home university.
Albana says: "Since my postgraduate studies in Austria, at the University of Graz and Vienna, my professional life has taken on a different dimension, for which I will always be grateful. Participating in a research project in collaboration with international students and researchers and being part of Prof. Lieberzeit's group at the University of Vienna is both challenging and beneficial. Developing analytical methods based on nanoMIP was my task during my research stay, which I will continue to develop in my home institution, University of Prishtina. In addition, this collaboration will be an excellent bridge for future joint projects involving students and staff.
Albana continues her academic life at the University of Prishtina, working on the continuation of joint scientific projects between Kosovo and Austria.
Apart from her academic activities, Albana, together with some other ex-students from Austria, has founded the Organisation of Kosovar Austrian Alumni (OKAA) with the support of HERAS+ Office and OeAD. The purpose of this organisation is to gather all young professionals in Kosovo who spent part of their education in Austrian universities and to enforce their impact in the country. The organisation has been officially launched in February 2023 by presenting its members and the OKAA statute in front of the main stakeholders in Kosovo such as Universities, Ministries, International Embassies and other local and international organisations.
