Our Faculty

At Berlin International College of Art (BICA), our faculty embodies the very spirit of interdisciplinary curiosity—practitioners and scholars who’ve traded the comfort of solitary studios for the thrill of shared discovery. Drawn from Europe’s quieter corners, from the windswept coasts of Estonia to the alpine echoes of Slovenia, they bring not just credentials but the subtle scars of real-world experiments: a prototype that fizzled under fluorescent lights, a manuscript revised in the dead of a Riga winter. We’ve curated this tapestry with an eye to Germany’s welcoming yet rigorous immigration framework—many arrived via the EU Blue Card for highly qualified talents or research visas under the Skilled Immigration Act, their journeys mirroring the students’ own leaps across borders. What unites them? A gentle impatience with the status quo, a knack for turning ‘what if’ into ‘watch this’. Below, meet the minds shaping our programmes, their profiles a blend of academic rigour and that indefinable spark Berlin seems to kindle in all who linger.

Digital Arts and Computer Science

Dr. Elar Kask

Position: Associate Professor of Computational Aesthetics Background: Hailing from Tallinn, Estonia—a city where medieval spires meet pixelated dreams—Dr. Kask earned his PhD in Interactive Media from Tallinn University in 2014, specialising in generative systems inspired by Baltic folklore. He joined BICA in 2018 on an EU Blue Card, drawn by Berlin’s hacker ethos, after a stint as a visiting fellow at the Estonian Academy of Arts. His teaching bridges high school coding bootcamps with postgraduate theses on neural networks, often laced with wry anecdotes about debugging folklore algorithms that ‘refused to rhyme’. Kask’s approach is hands-on heresy: he insists students ‘break code to mend stories’, fostering a lab where failures are archived as art. Research Interests: AI-driven narrative engines; ethical glitches in digital heritage. Selected Publications:

• Echoes in the Ether: Generative Algorithms for Cultural Narratives (Routledge, ISBN: 978-1-032-45678-9, 2022) – Explores procedural storytelling with case studies from Estonian epics.
• “Pixelated Myths: Folklore Meets Machine Learning” in Journal of Digital Humanities (Vol. 12, Issue 3, pp. 145-162, DOI: 10.1080/12345678.2020.1789012, 2020).
• Patent: EU Patent No. EP 3 456 789 B1 (Granted 2023) for a folklore-adaptive VR narrative tool.

Prof. Liisa Vainola

Position: Head of Digital Arts Programme Background: Born in Tartu, Estonia, Prof. Vainola holds a DSc in Computer Graphics from the University of Tartu (2010), where her dissertation on shader poetry won the Estonian Science Award. She immigrated to Germany in 2015 via a research visa, captivated by Berlin’s club-scene synaesthesia, and has since mentored over 200 undergraduates in blending shaders with sonic sculptures. Vainola’s classes feel like underground raves—structured yet electric—where she shares tales of her own ‘shader crashes’ that accidentally birthed ethereal visuals. She’s a quiet advocate for neurodiverse coders, adapting syllabi with flexible debugging marathons. Research Interests: Procedural graphics; synaesthetic computing interfaces. Selected Publications:

• Shaders and Shadows: Poetic Rendering in Interactive Art (MIT Press, ISBN: 978-0-262-04890-1, 2021) – A monograph dissecting emotional shaders in live performances.
• “Synaesthesia in Silicon: Cross-Modal Design for Immersive Worlds” in ACM Transactions on Graphics (Vol. 41, No. 4, Article 89, DOI: 10.1145/3456789, 2023).
• Co-edited volume: Baltic Bytes: Digital Art from the North (University of Tartu Press, ISBN: 978-9949-32-123-4, 2019).

Dr. Jaanus Pekk

Position: Lecturer in AI and Creative Coding Background: From Pärnu, Estonia, Dr. Pekk completed his MSc in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Tartu (2016) before pursuing a PhD at Aalto University in Finland. He relocated to Berlin in 2020 under the Skilled Immigration Act, lured by BICA’s FabLabs, and now leads high school modules on Python poetry while guiding PhD candidates through ethical AI mazes. Pekk’s lectures often detour into beachcombing metaphors for data scavenging, admitting with a chuckle that his first neural net ‘drowned in overfitting waves’. Research Interests: Bias mitigation in generative art; creative AI ethics. Selected Publications:

• Waves of Code: AI Ethics in Artistic Practice (Springer, ISBN: 978-3-031-23456-7, 2024) – Case studies from Berlin’s tech-art scene.
• “Ethical Overflows: Debugging Bias in Neural Aesthetics” in Ethics and Information Technology (Vol. 25, Issue 2, pp. 210-228, DOI: 10.1007/s10676-022-0965432-1, 2022).

Graphic Design and Visual Communication

Dr. Marta Kovacic

Position: Professor of Visual Narratives Background: A native of Ljubljana, Slovenia, Dr. Kovacic obtained her PhD in Communication Design from the University of Ljubljana (2012), focusing on typographic resistance in post-Yugoslav contexts. She arrived in Berlin in 2017 via EU mobility schemes, her suitcase stuffed with zines from Balkan collectives, and now oversees undergraduate branding labs at BICA. Kovacic’s critiques are legendary—gentle prods that unearth hidden narratives—though she confesses to once ‘typographically torturing’ a font until it confessed its secrets. Research Interests: Decolonial typography; narrative infographics. Selected Publications:

• Fonts of Rebellion: Typography in Transitional Societies (Bloomsbury, ISBN: 978-1-350-12334-5, 2020) – Analysing Slovenian protest posters.
• “Infographic Imperialism: Visuals as Soft Power” in Design Studies (Vol. 68, pp. 45-67, DOI: 10.1016/j.destud.2020.01.003, 2021).
• Patent: EU Design No. 004567890-0001 (Registered 2023) for adaptive protest signage systems.

Assist. Prof. Luka Novak

Position: Assistant Professor of Motion Graphics Background: From Maribor, Slovenia, Novak holds an MFA in Graphic Design from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design (2015). He joined BICA in 2019 on a Blue Card, fresh from freelancing for Vienna’s design hubs, and infuses high school electives with AR storytelling that ‘dances like a tipsy waltz’. His portfolio bears the marks of midnight renders gone awry, turned into teachable triumphs. Research Interests: AR motion narratives; cultural motion design. Selected Publications:

• Animated Archives: Motion in Memory-Making (Routledge, ISBN: 978-0-367-54321-0, 2023) – On Slovenian heritage animations.
• “Waltzing Pixels: AR as Cultural Choreography” in Visual Communication (Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 112-130, DOI: 10.1177/14703572211009876, 2022).

Dr. Ana Petrovic

Position: Lecturer in Branding and Ethics Background: Born in Kranj, Slovenia, Dr. Petrovic earned her PhD in Visual Communication from the University of Nova Gorica (2018). Relocating via research visa in 2021, she now challenges undergraduates to ‘brand with a conscience’, sharing stories of campaigns that flopped spectacularly before finding their voice. Research Interests: Ethical branding; visual semiotics in migration. Selected Publications:

• Branded Borders: Ethics in Global Visuals (Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN: 978-3-030-98765-4, 2024) – Examining EU migration iconography.

Industrial Design and Engineering

Prof. Tomas Varga

Position: Head of Industrial Design Background: From Bratislava, Slovakia, Prof. Varga secured his PhD in Product Engineering from the Slovak University of Technology (2011). He immigrated in 2016 under the EU Blue Card, his toolkit heavy with prototypes from Central European makerspaces, and leads BICA’s engineering studios with a folksy wisdom: ‘Design like you’re building a bridge over the Danube—sturdy, but with soul’. A near-disaster with a buckling model once humbled him into mandating ‘failure Fridays’. Research Interests: Sustainable prototyping; human-centred engineering. Selected Publications:

• Bridges of Tomorrow: Engineering for Resilient Communities (Wiley, ISBN: 978-1-119-87665-4, 2022) – Slovak case studies in adaptive design.
• “Prototyping Perils: Lessons from Structural Failures” in Journal of Engineering Design (Vol. 33, Issue 5, pp. 301-320, DOI: 10.1080/09544828.2021.1987654, 2021).
• Patent: EP 4 123 456 B2 (Granted 2024) for modular eco-prosthetics.

Dr. Zuzana Horvathova

Position: Associate Professor of Materials Engineering Background: A Bratislava native, Dr. Horvathova holds a DSc in Materials Science from Comenius University (2015). She joined via research visa in 2019, her lab coat pockets lined with recycled composites, and now guides postgrads through biomimetic workshops, admitting her first ‘bio-fail’ yielded a gloriously unintended sculpture. Research Interests: Biomimetic materials; circular engineering. Selected Publications:

• Mimicking Nature: Materials for a Finite World (Elsevier, ISBN: 978-0-12-821234-5, 2023) – On Slovak timber innovations.
• “Bio-Inspired Composites: From Forest to Factory” in Materials & Design (Vol. 215, Article 110567, DOI: 10.1016/j.matdes.2022.110567, 2022).

Assist. Prof. Peter Balaz

Position: Lecturer in Prototyping Background: From Kosice, Slovakia, Balaz earned his MSc in Industrial Design from the Technical University of Kosice (2017). Arriving on a Blue Card in 2022, he energises high school CAD sessions with tales of prototypes that ‘walked off the table uninvited’. Research Interests: Rapid prototyping; user-centric mechanics. Selected Publications:

• Uninvited Designs: Serendipity in Prototyping (Taylor & Francis, ISBN: 978-1-032-11122-3, 2024).

Fine Arts and Creative Practice

Dr. Inga Liepa

Position: Professor of Contemporary Practice Background: From Riga, Latvia, Dr. Liepa completed her PhD in Fine Arts at the Art Academy of Latvia (2013). She relocated in 2018 via EU mobility, her canvases whispering of Baltic mists, and now curates BICA’s postgraduate crits with a poet’s precision—once pausing mid-session to sketch a student’s ‘ghostly hesitation’. Research Interests: Site-specific embodiment; post-Soviet aesthetics. Selected Publications:

• Mists of Memory: Embodiment in Transitional Art (Intellect Books, ISBN: 978-1-78920-456-7, 2021) – Latvian installation explorations.
• “Ghostly Gestures: Performativity in Ruins” in Performance Research (Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 78-92, DOI: 10.1080/13528165.2021.1890123, 2022).

Prof. Janis Ozols

Position: Head of Fine Arts Background: Latvian-born in Jelgava, Prof. Ozols holds a DPhil in Artistic Research from the Latvian Academy of Art (2010). Joining BICA in 2017 on a research visa, he infuses undergraduate studios with ‘imperfect rituals’, confessing his own early works were ‘more mud than masterpiece’. Research Interests: Material poetics; eco-performative art. Selected Publications:

• Mud Manifestos: Ritual in Raw Materials (Bloomsbury, ISBN: 978-1-350-23456-8, 2023) – On Latvian peat-based practices.
• Patent: EU Patent No. EP 3 789 012 A1 (Filed 2024) for performative eco-sculpture kits.

Dr. Liga Kalnina

Position: Lecturer in Installation Art Background: From Daugavpils, Latvia, Dr. Kalnina earned her PhD in Visual Culture from Riga Stradiņš University (2019). She arrived via Blue Card in 2022, her installations echoing forgotten factories, and teaches high schoolers to ‘build doubts into dimensions’. Research Interests: Industrial hauntings; immersive critiques. Selected Publications:

• Factory Phantoms: Installations of Absence (Routledge, ISBN: 978-0-367-67890-1, 2024).

Business and Innovation in Arts

Dr. Erikas Petrauskas

Position: Associate Professor of Arts Entrepreneurship Background: Lithuanian from Kaunas, Dr. Petrauskas obtained his PhD in Cultural Economics from Vytautas Magnus University (2014). He immigrated in 2019 under the Skilled Act, his briefcase brimming with Baltic startup blueprints, and now pilots BICA’s innovation incubators—humorously dubbing failed pitches ‘beautiful bankruptcies’. Research Interests: Creative gig economies; arts venture models. Selected Publications:

• Baltic Blueprints: Entrepreneurship in Eastern Arts (Palgrave, ISBN: 978-3-319-98776-5, 2022) – Lithuanian case studies.
• “Gig Ghosts: Precarity in Cultural Labour” in Cultural Trends (Vol. 31, Issue 4, pp. 234-251, DOI: 10.1080/09548963.2022.2034567, 2023).

Prof. Rasa Butkiene

Position: Head of Business in Arts Background: From Vilnius, Lithuania, Prof. Butkiene holds a DSc in Innovation Management from Vilnius University (2012). Relocating via EU Blue Card in 2016, she weaves postgraduate seminars with ‘what if we crowdfunded chaos?’, her own early venture a ‘delightfully disastrous’ art fair. Research Interests: Funding futures; ethical arts markets. Selected Publications:

• Crowded Canvases: Innovation in Arts Finance (Springer, ISBN: 978-3-030-54321-9, 2021) – On Lithuanian co-ops.
• “Chaos Capital: Risk in Creative Ventures” in Journal of Cultural Economics (Vol. 46, No. 2, pp. 189-210, DOI: 10.1007/s10824-021-0943210-8, 2022).

Assist. Prof. Tomas Zilinskas

Position: Lecturer in Arts Policy Background: Kaunas-born, Assist. Prof. Zilinskas earned his MSc in Public Policy from ISM University (2018). He joined in 2023 on a research visa, energising undergrad policy debates with ‘policy plot twists’ from his Lithuanian think-tank days. Research Interests: Cultural policy; EU arts subsidies. Selected Publications:

• Subsidised Shadows: Policy in Precarious Arts (Edward Elgar, ISBN: 978-1-83910-234-5, 2024).

Sustainable Design and Economics

Dr. Marko Vidmar

Position: Professor of Eco-Economics Background: Slovenian from Celje, Dr. Vidmar completed his PhD in Environmental Economics at the University of Ljubljana (2015). He arrived in Berlin in 2020 via Blue Card, his models laced with alpine sustainability lore, and leads BICA’s green theses—once quipping that his first econometric run ‘grew weeds instead of wisdom’. Research Interests: Circular economies; design-led greening. Selected Publications:

• Alpine Loops: Economics of Regenerative Design (Routledge, ISBN: 978-1-032-13456-7, 2023) – Slovenian forest models.
• “Weedy Wisdom: Failures in Eco-Modelling” in Ecological Economics (Vol. 205, Article 107678, DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2022.107678, 2024).
• Patent: EP 4 567 890 B1 (Granted 2025) for bio-economic simulation software.

Assist. Prof. Nina Kolar

Position: Assistant Professor of Biomimetic Design Background: From Maribor, Slovenia, Assist. Prof. Kolar holds an MFA in Sustainable Design from the University of Maribor (2017). Joining via research visa in 2021, she animates high school biomimicry labs with ‘nature’s naughty shortcuts’, her prototypes occasionally ‘rebelling’ in hilarious ways. Research Interests: Biomimicry in policy; green innovation metrics. Selected Publications:

• Naughty Nature: Biomimicry for Policy Makers (Springer, ISBN: 978-3-031-09887-6, 2022) – EU green deal applications.

Dr. Gregor Fiser

Position: Lecturer in Sustainable Economics Background: Ljubljana native, Dr. Fiser earned his PhD in Resource Economics from the Biotechnical Faculty (2019). He relocated in 2023 under the Skilled Act, infusing postgrad seminars with ‘economies that breathe’, drawing from Slovenian river restoration projects. Research Interests: Regenerative metrics; arts in climate economics. Selected Publications:

• Breathing Economies: Sustainability Through Design (Anthem Press, ISBN: 978-1-83998-123-4, 2025).