PERSONAL INFORMATION
Full name: CSABA PUSZTAI
Say it like this: [chubba poos·thai]
Date of birth: 1974
Nationality: Hungarian
Current residence: Hungary
Family status: unmarried partner & two children
EDUCATION
Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences and Policy
I completed my thesis under the supervison of Prof. Aleh Cherp, entitled ‘Organizational Aspects of Learning for Sustainability in Local Government: A Study on Hungarian Municipalities.’ It was a quantitative study on how formal and informal organizational arrangements influence knowledge sharing within and across the organizational boundaries of local governments and how this impacts developing capacity to govern local sustainability. Dissertation committee: Leon Hermans (TU Delft), Adam D. Henry (West Virginia University), László Pintér (CEU, IISD), Aleh Cherp (CEU, Lund University).
M.Sc. in Business Economics
I completed my Master’s degree as a part-time student while already working as an instructor in the Department of Economics at Eszterházy Károly College. In this 5-semester program I covered coursework in applied aspects of economics, quantitative methods and business.
Eger, Hungary
1996
I earned a dual Bachelor’s degree. My coursework included substantial coursework in psychology and education and I was also required to do a teaching practicum in high-school.
NON-DEGREE EDUCATION
International Faculty Program (IFP)
The IFP helps international faculty members develop professionally and personally in the following areas: communication skills, teaching methodologies and course design, career development and institution building.
Training the Trainers – Women’s Entrepreneurship Program
This CIDA-funded joint program of MSVU and the Hungarian Ministry of Labor trained employment trainers to help them develop entrepreneurial training programs for women. The program focused on new venture creation with a special emphasis on learning tools and strategies for women’s entrepreneurial programs.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Undergraduate and graduate teaching and thesis supervision
I have taught various courses in economics and business in both bachelor’s and master’s programs. I am comfortable lecturing 150+ people, as well as facilitating small-group seminars (15-25 students). I predominantly teach in Hungarian, although some courses targeted at international courses are instructed in English.
Executive education
I facilitate an intensive one-day workshop for executives on the strategic aspects of using social media inside the corporation. Participants typically represent some of the largest companies in Hungary from the telecommunications, banking and energy industry.
MBA teaching
In this joint distance learning program of OUM and EKC, I am responsible for the Managerial Economics and Business Research Methods course. Instruction is in English, students participate in offline and online classes.
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
Assistant Professor
After serving as an instructor for 4 years (1996-2000), upon completing my Master’s degree, I was appointed a lecturer. After 8 years in a lecturer position, I was appointed an Assistant Professor in 2008. Duties remained essentially the same with time divided between 40% teaching, 40% research, 20% administration.
Country Director
Supervised the Hungarian operations of the CF, an international network of non-governmental foundations in the Carpathian euregion. As Country Director, I managed 4 staff in the Hungarian office and was responsible for grant programs and capacity building events targeted at other non-profits in the region to support their community development projects in rural areas.
Editor
Mountain Bike Action Hungary was the Hungarian edition of the leading US magazine. I served as the editor on the small team behind the magazine. My job included creating original content, migrating content from the mother magazine and also designing layout.
PUBLICATIONS
- Pusztai, Cs. (2011). Organizational Aspects of Learning for Sustainability in Local Government: A study on Hungarian municipalities. PhD thesis, Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy, Central European University, Budapest.
- Cservenyák, T. & Pusztai, Cs. (2010). Self-directed Learning Practices of Hungarian Executives: The Findings of the 2010 Survey. Budapest: KPMG-BME Academy.[in Hungarian]
CONFERENCES
- Pusztai, Cs. (October 28-30, 2011). Organizational Aspect of Learning for Sustainability in Local Government: A Study on Hungarian Municipalities. Presented at the Urban Development in Europe and Russia Conference. European University at Saint Petersburg. Saint Petersburg, Russia.
- Pusztai, Cs. (November 17-19, 2010).The Role of Organizational Culture and Advice Networks in Learning for Sustainability. Poster presented at the ‘Sustainable Development Evaluations in Europe’ EASY-ECO Conference. Brussels, Belgium.
- Pusztai, Cs. (July 12-17, 2009). Learning for Sustainability: An Empirical Study on Local Governments in Hungary. Presented at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the ISSS. University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
- Pusztai, Cs. (June 20-22, 2008). Sustainability, Systems, and Learning in Environmental Policy. Presented at the 4th Graduate Conference. Central European University, Budapest, Hungary.
- Pusztai, Cs. (March 11-14, 2008). Sustainability and Learning at the Local Level of Governance: A Network Approach in Assessment. Presented at the ‘Governance by Evaluation’ EASY-ECO Conference. Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. Vienna, Austria.
- Pusztai, Cs. (August 5-10, 2007). Applying Complex Adaptive Systems Concepts to the Analysis of Local Environmental Policy. Presented at the 51th Annual Meeting of the ISSS. Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan.
- Pusztai, Cs. (November 13, 2006). New Perspectives in Assessing Local Environmental Strategies. Presented at the ‘Regional Competitiveness—Social Responsibility’ Conference. Eszterházy Károly College, Eger, Hungary.
- Pusztai, Cs. (November 6-7, 2006). The Role of Internet Technologies in Designing Competitive Higher Education Training and Research Strategies: An International Overview. Presented at the AgriaMedia ICEM ICI-5 Conference. Eszterházy Károly College, Eger, Hungary.
- Pusztai, Cs. (October 11-14, 2006). Sustainability Planning and its Role in Creating Capacity for Learning: A Complex Adaptive Systems Perspective. Presented at the ‘Improving the Quality of Sustainable Development Projects’ EASY-ECO Conference. CEval, Saarbrücken, Germany.
- Pusztai, Cs. (July 9-14, 2006). Sustainability Planning and its Role in Creating Capacity for Learning: A Complex Adaptive Systems Perspective. Presented at the 50th Annual Meeting of the ISSS. Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, CA, USA.
- Pusztai, Cs. (December 5-7, 2005). The Emergence of Sustainable Communities: The Potential of a Complex Systems Approach in Planning for Local Sustainability. Presented at the 11th ANZSYS Conference. Christchurch, New Zealand.
- Pusztai, Cs. (July 19-24, 2005). Great Expectations? Sustainable Communities in Central Eastern Europe. Presented at the International Rural Network Conference. Abingdon, VA, USA.
- Pusztai, Cs. (November 21, 2002). The First Ten Years of Local Agenda 21. Presented at the ‘Globalization and Competitiveness’ Conference. Eszterházy Károly College, Eger, Hungary.
INVITED TALKS
- November 9, 2011. Social Media inside the Corporate Firewall. Roundtable Conference on Social Media in Project Management, Budapest. Organized by the Project Management Institute’s Hungarian Chapter. [in Hungarian]
- November 3, 2010. Self-directed Learning Practices of Hungarian Executives: The Findings of the 2010 Survey. Business Breakfast Lecture Series at KPMG-BME Academy, Budapest. [in Hungarian]
LANGUAGES
| Hungarian | ★★★★★ | Native language |
| English | ★★★★★ | Full professional proficiency (Primary language for academic work) |
| Spanish | ★★★★★ | Fair, basic conversational |
