Lecturers | ASPIRA University College

Prof. Helen Bayne

• Director of the International Hospitality Management program at the Hotel Institute Montreux, Swiss Education Group;

•17 years of expertise managing 4 and 5 star internationally-recognized hotels in the US and Caribbean, specializing in resorts;

• President of the Internationalo Association of Travel and Tourism Professionals, SKAL Montreux.

Dr. John Beech

Visiting professor on FH Kufstein and IE Business School in Madrid;
Dr. Beech is the first person to receive the Award for Excellence in Teaching at Coventry University for his work on e-learning development;
Field of interest: the problem of over-indebtedness of football clubs in England, the commercialisation of sport, the e-marketing of sports organisations;
Author of the book “Business of Sport Management“.

Mick Bettesworth

Mick Bettesworth is the principal of Mick Bettesworth Marina Consultants ltd, which offers a wide spectrum of consultancy services to the marina industry worldwide.
Prior to establishing the consultancy in 2014, he spent 25 years, including 10 at Board level, with the MDL Marinas Group who are Europe’s largest Marina owners and operators.
Mick is also a chartered Surveyor with extensive experience in residential and commercial waterside development.
He is the current Chairman of the Global Marina Institute, Presidente Honario of MDL Italia and a Director and Shareholder of MDL France.
He is a Director of the English Riviera Tourist Company and a visiting lecturer at the University of Portsmouth in the UK.

Dr.sc. Mirko Bilandžić

Faculty of Philosophy, University of Zagreb, Assistant Professor;
Lecturing the courses “Business Information” and “Crisis management”;
State administration, Institutions of the National Security System of the Republic of Croatia, higher levels of menagament.

Prof. Dr. Simon Chadwick

Professor Simon Chadwick holds the position of Chair in Sport Business Strategy and Marketing at Coventry University Business School;
He has been quoted more than 10,000 times in publications across the world including in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Forbes;
Founder and director of CIBS (Center for the International Business of Sport);
Editor of international journal: Sport, Business and Management.

Prof. Darra Goldstein

professor in the area of gastronomy from the University of Melbourne (Food Studies).
Author and editor of numerous books, scientific and technical papers, magazines and portals in the field of food culture and gastronomy., Such as: Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture; Graphic Design in the Mechanical Age and Feeding Desire: Design and the Tools of the Table; Culinary Cultures of Europe: Identity, Diversity and Dialogue; Russian Life magazine.
Works as consultant to several international projects such as the European Union Northern Dimension initiative, AgVANTAGE / USAID project on Georgian agriculture, Consultant on Food and Diversity, The Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France.

Chef Vincenzo Guarino

Famous Italian chief, owner of the prestigious Michelin star as a renowned international chef;
Studied at the State Professional Institute for hotel services and catering of Roccaraso (L’Aquila), Italy. He has worked in several restaurants with Michelin stars as Executive Chef;
Participated in numerous international competitions and culinary events such as: Gastronomy week in Moscow, Italian Cuisine World Summit Dubai, Gastronomy week in London;
Works at the Castello di Spaltenna, Exclusive Tuscan RESRT & Spa as Executive Chefrestaurant Il Pievano.

Prof. Dr. Sebastian Kaiser

Professor Kaiser received his doctorate in the field of Sport Economics and Sociology;
Professor of Business Administration, particularly Sport Management at Heilbronn University (Germany)
Visiting professor at the Russian International Olympic University (RIOU in Sochi);
Editor of the German German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research.

Prof. (FH) Dr. Robert Kaspar

Head of Sports, culture and event Management study at FH Kufstein University of Applied Sciences;
Professor at Sport and event Management;
Prizes: Leopold-Scheidl prize of the University of Economics, Vienna Science Prize of the Austrian Olympic Committee;
General director for Salzburg 2010 Olympic Winter Games;
Project Manager for Olympic Games 2012 in Vienna.

James Kennell

James Kennell is Director of the Economic Development Resource Centre at the University of Greenwich, London, where he is also Programme Leader for the BA (hons) Tourism Management degree and a Senior Lecturer in Tourism Management.
James’ research is primarily into the links between tourism and economic development and this has recently led him to become involved in projects including measuring the economic impacts of a year-long London festival programme
Currently, James is completing a project that will produce the first national report on the economic impacts of the self-catering sector in England.
James’ recent publications have included papers on cultural tourism and urban regeneration in Europe after the global economic crisis

Dr. sc. Ivan Mišetić

Appointed the Chief of State Protocol in the Government of the Republic of Croatia in 1995;
CEO of Croatia Airlines in 1997;
A member of the Presidency of the European Association of Airlines;
A member of the Council of the Croatian Tourist Board.

Doc. dr. sc. Damir Primorac

Course Director of the “Criminal Procedure Law II” at the University Department of Forensic Sciences, University of Split;
Course Director of the “Sports Misdemeanor Law” at the Postgraduate Study and the “Sports Law” at the Faculty of Law in Split;
Course Director of the “Sports Misdemeanor Law” at the Specialist Master Course of the Faculty of Kinesiology in Split;
A full member of the Croatian Academy of Legal Sciences;
Founder and lawyer in the law firm “Primorac and Partners“;
A member of the American Judges Association;
A long-term former judge of the Municipal and County Court in Split;
President of the Arbitration of the Croatian Football Association;
Author and co-author of numerous scientific and professional papers.

Christian Schmolzer

Christian Schmölzer is a retired Austrian football goalkeeper and current sports manager;
He was tournament director of the EURO 2008 in Austria and Switzerland;
He is currently managing director of soccer academy Kärnten.

Doc. dr. sc. Marija Valčić

Her research areas include cultural tourism, cultural heritage as a resource in tourism, arts and tourism
Her research areas include research in the field of international cultural relations and co-operation, comparative cultural policies, cultural development, cultural financing and management
Her research interests focus on the impact of ICT on cultural issues, virtual networks and portals, digitalization of culture, organization of knowledge in the cultural field and issues of public domain and cultural heritage, cultural information, cultural strategy, cultural management and cultural cooperation issues.

Prof. dr. Milan Žvan

Dean of the Faculty of Sport in Ljubljana;
Member of the Executive Board of the European Association of teachers of physical education (EUPEA);
He has published numerous papers in the area of methodology, kinematics, and motor skills, especially skiing and other sports;

PhD Gerome Hays

Lawyer, innovator, investor, founder of many successful business projects and legislative reforms.
Founded and led by 5 companies , mentor to numerous founders throughout the USA and Asia.

He is a senior lecturer at the prestigious Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, ranked by Bloomberg Business Review as 4. of the 3000 business schools in the United States.

Dr. sc. Irena Ateljević

Academic Education: 1998 Doctorate at the University of Auckland, NZ (2003 at the University of Zagreb).
Employment and professional experience: 2011 – Senior Research Associate, Institute for Tourism, 2011 – Present Visiting Professor, University of Wageningen, Netherlands. 2005 – 2011 Associate Professor, University of Wageningen, Netherlands. 2003 – 2005 Associate Professor, Technology University of Auckland, NZ. 2002 – 2003. Senior Associate Professor of Business Studies Master of Science, University of Technology in Auckland, NZ. 1998 – 2002 Assistant Professor and Director of the Undergraduate Program of the University of Victoria in Wellington, NZ
Important Social and Knowledge Positions: Professional Advisor to the UNWTO Working Group “Empowering Women in Tourism”, part of UN’s Millennium Goals. Co-founder and initiator of the International Network of Critical Tourism Studies. Editor-in-chief of Tourism. Member of the editorial board. Journal of Leisure Studies; Tourism Geographies, Tourism Recreation Research; Tourism.

Bruno Grbac, PHD, PROFESSOR EMERITUS

Distinguished Full Professor – University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business.
Visiting Professor at Thinshua University, Beiging (China), John Carroll University, Cleveland (USA), Arizona State University, Phoenix, (USA), University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo (BIH), University of Bihać, Bihać (BIH) and University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana (SLO).
Author, co-author and editor of 26 academic books, with over 170 academic research papers published in highly-ranked academic journals.
The field of his academic interest includes the study of micro and macro trends in marketing, the research of interactive processes of transition, ecology and marketing, the analysis of market-oriented businesses and the transformation process via marketing management.
Recognition and awards: Marketing Association of Rijeka Award (1990), Fulbright Award (1994/95), University Foundation Award (2009/2010), Recognition of collaboration, Faculty of Economics and Business, Split (2010), City of Rijeka Award (2011) and „Fedor Rocco“ Award, Faculty of Economics and Business, Zagreb (2015).

Prof. Sharlene Steele-Prohaska

A distinguished university professor with over 30 years of experience in academic education.
It deals with the study of cultural heritage, sustainable planning and development, environmental protection, special forms of tourism and the development of creative forms of tourism.
For many years she has been the head of Tourism Studies and is currently employed as a professor in permanent employment at NYU Jonathan M.Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management.