Professor Martin Kahanec from the Department of Social Development and Labour at the Faculty of Economics and Finance EUBA has become the laureate of the Eset Science Award in the Outstanding Scientist in Slovakia 2025 category.
Martin Kahanec is the first laureate from the field of social sciences and humanities to be awarded this award. His research has long been devoted to changes in the employment of vulnerable groups in the labor market and the impact of public policies on their living conditions. Together with his team, he developed a methodology for calculating a living wage that is used worldwide and provides a basis for the implementation of policies by the European Commission, the UN, social partners, as well as large employers.
Institution building is also an important part of his mission. Martin Kahanec founded and heads the Central European Labor Research Institute (CELSI) in Bratislava, an independent research institute that provides data and analysis on labor markets and social policy. He also serves as a professor at the Central European University in Vienna and the Bratislava University of Economics and Business, where he is dedicated to research and training a new generation of economists.
His work goes beyond the pure academic sphere — it combines deep analytical work with applicable solutions in social and economic policies.
The ESET Science Award emphasizes science with real impact. The ESET Science Award laureates are selected by a prestigious international committee consisting of world-renowned scientists from various scientific fields. The role of its chairman is held annually by a Nobel Prize laureate.
We warmly congratulate Professor Kahanec on his award and wish him good luck and success in his further scientific research activities.
