The EC-H2020-MSCA urbanHIST project (History of European Urbanism in the 20th Century, led at UPJŠ by Prof. PaedDr. Martin Pekár, PhD.) continues to deliver excellent results even after its official completion. The latest success comes in the form of a defended PhD dissertation within the double degree system, with the direct involvement of the Department of History at the Faculty of Arts, UPJŠ in Košice.
On April 28, 2026, doctoral student Mgr. Adam Górka successfully defended his dissertation titled “Understanding of Morphological Changes in Post-Socialist Cities Using Digital Spatial Tools: Case Study of Košice.” His research focused on the morphological transformation of post-socialist cities using GIS (Geographic Information System) tools. The defense confirmed the candidate’s high level of expertise and the success of international scientific cooperation.
Within this prestigious European project and double degree programme, Mgr. Adam Górka was enrolled as a doctoral student at Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, studying at the Department of History (Faculty of Arts), while simultaneously attending Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH) in Karlskrona, Sweden, where he integrated the study of history with urban planning. His scientific journey embodied the core mission of the urbanHIST project—crossing the boundaries of individual scientific disciplines. Through professional internships and research stays, he worked at several leading European academic institutions to gather data for his interdisciplinary research.
The dissertation defense took place at the Department of History, Faculty of Arts, UPJŠ in Košice, in a hybrid format. The international committee consisted of experts from Poland, Germany, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and the Slovak Republic. The committee highly praised the quality of the submitted work as well as the candidate’s ability to conduct an in-depth analysis of historical urban processes. Based on the bilateral co-tutelle agreement between Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice and Blekinge Institute of Technology in Karlskrona, Mgr. Adam Górka will be awarded the academic title of PhD by both universities.
He becomes the fourth successful graduate of the doctoral study program in Slovak History within the urbanHIST project implemented at the Department of History. This achievement reaffirms that the Faculty of Arts at UPJŠ is a solid part of the elite European research area.
Text: Mgr. Katarína Hajduková
Photo: Ing. Marek Sekerák
