Dr. Figurek graduated from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Banja Luka (2006, Republic of Srpska, B&H), finishing the studies first in her generation out of 600+ students. She obtained a Magister degree from the same University and completed her PhD at the University of Novi Sad in Serbia (2014). She has expanded her expertise through research at various prestigious institutions across multiple countries (Institute of Statistics, Graz University of Technology, Vienna University of Technology, TU Wien, University of Maynooth, Karl Landsteiner University, BOKU University, EU Grants Access, ETH Zurich, Reykjavik University, etc.) and was awarded for her achievements by the Government of the Republic of Srpska. She finished her postdoc at ARI Nicosia. Dr Figurek reached the rank of Associate Professor at the University of Banja Luka in the Republic of Srpska and has participated in over 50 research projects and published more than 90 scientific articles and books. She speaks Serbian, German, English, Russian and Greek, and acts as a reviewer for a wide range of reputable and high-impact scientific journals. She completed her second PhD at the University of Nicosia, focusing on Digital Technology and Artificial Intelligence.