Alban Avdulla
Alban Avdulla is an MIP Fellow currently pursuing a Master of Laws , at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. He has completed his Bachelor and Master Degree at the University of Tirana, Faculty of Law. His master studies in “EU Business Law” were focused on: competition law, commercial law, employment law, etc. Afterward, Alban pursued the School of Advocacy organized by the National Chamber of Advocacy and gained the license to practice law.
Meanwhile, apart from his studies, Alban has participated in various trainings, conferences and summer schools such as: (i) Training course from "Harvard University" on "Justice" and "Computer Science for Lawyers", of which Alban has been awarded a "Certificate of Achievement"; (ii) Summer school, organized by the Council of Europe, with focus on "Reinforcing Juridical Expertise on Freedom of Expression and Media in South-East Europe"; (iii) Regional competition (Moot-Court), organized by "Civil Rights Defenders", which was attended by representatives of universities from all Balkan countries, etc.
Afterward, Alban has completed two internships: (i) At the Parliament of the Republic of Albania assisting the Deputy Speaker; (ii) At the House of Commons, the democratically elected house of the UK Parliament, assisting MP Mr. John Grogan.
Starting his career, Alban had the chance to work as an assistant professor, teaching European Union Law at the European University of Tirana, but shortly after gaining his license, he has been working as a lawyer in one of the biggest law firms in Albania, “Halimi Law & Tax”, managing an important portfolio of clients focused in the Energy Sector and Public Procurement.
Andi Mujollari
Andi Mujollari is an MIP Fellow currently pursuing a Master of International Development Policy, at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
He holds a Bachelor degree in Environmental Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Water and Wastewater Treatment and Management, at Polytechnic University of Tirana, Faculty of Civil Engineering. During his academic years, he has been part of two student exchange programs, at Riga Technical University & AGH University of Science and Technology Krakow.
Since 2012, Andi has been engaged as a volunteer at the Albanian Red Cross, and in 2020 he started working for the International Federation of Red Cross as an Administration Officer. From March 2021, he holds the position of project coordinator at Albanian Red Cross, where he is responsible for the implementation of the activities in the framework of “Better Shelter” project.
Andi is also the co-founder of a community structure, called Environmental Council of Tirana which undertakes environmental initiatives of local public interest, in order to solve common problems affecting the city, promoting a healthy environment and quality of life.
For years, he has been engaged and contributed in projects and initiatives focusing on the environment, floods, and renewable energy, collaborating with the organizations GIZ Albania, OSCE, REC, National Agency for Territorial Planning & National Youth Congress of Albania.
Andi has always been passionate about sustainable developments and engineering sciences - in particular, from the sense of humanism to the human beings and the sense of community.
Emiriana Stanishja
Emiriana Stanishja is an MIP Fellow currently pursuing a Master in Public Administration, focusing in Economics, at Cornell University, New York.
started her career at the Ministry of Finance and Economy as an expert at the General Directorate of Public Debt and Foreign Aid Coordination. For more than 3 years her work is focused on issuing debt instruments like Eurobonds in the name and interest of the Republic of Albania in International Capital Markets.
Driven by her desire to broaden her knowledge she attended several international conferences and trainings, both overseas and within country, organized mostly by IMF, World Bank, European Bank and Austrian Bank.
She holds a Bachelor’s and Master of Science degree in Finance and Accounting, from the Agricultural University of Tirana, where she graduated with honors. During her master studies she has been an exchange student of Erasmus+ program in “Warsaw University of Life Sciences” in Poland and “Aleksandras Stulginskis University” in Lithuania. This experience has provided Emiriana with a wonderful opportunity in interacting with various young groups and activities, experiencing a different way of studying, teaching, living, meeting people from various cultures and traditions and as well as traveling to several beautiful places.
Emiriana is a motivated and driven young professional committed to contribute in the policy making of her country and to be able to cope with the dynamics of current economic developments.
Reading, hiking, traveling and participating in voluntary projects and organizations are some of her hobbies.
Erisjena Rruplli
Erisjena Rruplli is an MIP Fellow currently pursuing an MBA focusing in Operations Management and Supply at Bentley University, Waltham, Massachusetts. She completed her Bachelor and Master of Science studies at the Polytechnic University of Tirana, in the field of Economic Engineering. During her master studies she was focused on the analysis principles to provide goods and services that satisfy the consumer at an affordable cost.
She is working as a project manager in a digital marketing company, offering digital solutions and marketing automation for small and medium enterprises operating internationally. Erisjena is also currently working as an assistant Professor at Polytechnic University of Tirana. Furthermore, she is co-author in different studies focused on Albanian SMEs activity.
Erisjena is a fan of the “Stream of consciousness” narrative method that’s why she likes to read psychological books. Also, her hobbies include traveling and listening to good music.
Hendi Kushta
Hendi Kushta is an MIP Fellow currently pursuing a Master of Science in Applied Data Science, at Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York.
He has completed his Bachelor studies in Business Informatics and Master of Science in Computer Engineering at Epoka University.
Hendi has had several working experiences related with data management and analytic. He is very passionate working with data including collecting, accessing, manipulating, predicting, processing, analyzing.
He used to work as a Business Intelligence Developer at Info Business Solutions which is part of Infosoft Group, one of the biggest tech companies in Albania. He has completed and managed several important projects in very short time. He sees Data Science as an exciting and at the same time a challenging area. In his free time, Hendi enjoys playing football and traveling.
Juna Hicka
Juna Hicka is an MIP Fellow currently pursuing a Master of Laws at George Washington University, in Washington DC.
She is a lawyer with 4 years of professional experience in litigation. She graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Tirana, first obtaining her Bachelor’s Degree of Laws, and then graduating in her Master of Science (MSc) studies in Public Law. She started her career as an intern and afterword a law assistant in a private law firm. Through the excellent students’ employment program of the Albanian government, since 2019 she is employed in the public administration sector as a legal representative for the Agency for Treatment of Property (ATP).
In addition to her work in the field of justice, Juna has also created a profile as a civil society activist throughout many years of continuous engagement with youth organizations where she has served not only as a member, but also as an active part in leading positions for coordinating various projects. She has serves in various leadership positions such as being the head of the civic engagement department of the U.S. Embassy Youth Council Albania, being Secretary General of the European Law Students’ Association Albania (ELSA), and being the head of the projects department of the UN Youth Association Albania. She is keen on advancing her knowledge and professional experience in the field of and international law and human rights and also being an active member of society.
Klaudia Tufina
Klaudia Tufina is an MIP Fellow currently pursuing a Master of Urban Planning at University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Illinois.
She is a young architect with experiences ranging from architecture, urbanism, planning and development. She has worked with local and international programs within the architecture and urbanism sector during and after her studies.
She is graduated with honors with a Master’s Degree from the Department of Architecture and Engineering from Epoka University, by successfully maintaining the 5 years scholarship granted for the whole years of studies by the faculty. Klaudia studied her master’s thesis as a research project to regenerate and develop the neighborhoods and the public networks of the capital city of Albania, Tirana.
During her studies, Klaudia has worked at the University as a mentor to teach other students Architecture and Graphic Communication Skills, she has conducted 2 undergraduate internships (one in architecture studio and one in construction site), and after graduation, Klaudia worked with The German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) in Albania, in the “Sustainable Urban Transport in Tirana” project, a project aiming the development of Tirana as a city. Klaudia has also participated in a student exchange program in the USA for 4 months, sponsored by Greenheart Exchange, where she engaged in local community service and in volunteer jobs.
Klaudia has focused her interest into creating and developing better spaces for people. She is currently working in an international architecture and urbanism office in Rotterdam, Netherlands, “CITYFÖRSTER”, where she is creating and designing architecture and urbanism projects worldwide, by considering the public realm, climate change effects, the environment, sustainability, public spaces, innovative mobility concepts, and other building and urban design-related questions.
Klaudia is also continuing her Master thesis Research with her thesis Supervisor (as co-authors) and is waiting for her first Scientific Research Book Publication related to Urbanism and Sustainable Planning. She is also working with hands on research related to architecture and city development and she is presenting her works in various international Architecture and Urban Planning Conferences.
Her future goals are to successfully complete a secondary master’s degree in the USA and to gain international professional experience, so she can later help and contribute into developing communities worldwide, starting from her home country. During her free time, Klaudia likes to play volleyball, workout at the gym, draw/paint, take extra architectural classes, or read professional books.
Marisa Lala
Marisa Lala is currently an MIP fellow, pursuing a Master in Business Administration at Brandies University, Waltham, Massachusetts.
Marisa graduated with a bachelor degree in Finance and Accounting from University of Tirana and is currently pursuing the ACCA qualification. During her studies, she was part of AIESEC (a youth organization operating in Albania) firstly as a member and later as an event manager.
After her studies, she joined one of biggest financial advisory companies worldwide, Deloitte, as a Student Brand Ambassador. Following this experience, Marisa continued her journey at Deloitte pursuing a six-month internship in the Audit department. She then worked for two years as an Audit Associate before switching to a more challenging position in the Financial Advisory Department. She is currently working as a Senior Consultant in Transaction Services focusing on Mergers and Acquisitions in the Italian market.
Ornela Gjoni
Ornela Gjoni is an MIP Fellow currently pursuing a Master of City and Regional Planning, at Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia.
She is a young architect, drawn to learning about how humans learn from and interact with the environments they create and inhabit. She holds a Master’s degree from Epoka University, where she graduated with high honors. Motivated, curious and creative, her experience spans illustrations, graphic communication and hands-on design. She values visual narratives, map-making and planning solutions that are both responsive and flexible to changing neighborhoods and communities.
Ornela brings to the table experience that includes working for many local design studios.