Stefan Kah is a Senior Knowledge Exchange and Research Fellow at EPRC. He has a degree in Economic Geography from the University of Bayreuth in Germany and has studied in Italy (University of Padua) where he wrote his Masters thesis on the Cinque Terre National Park, examining regional development effects of protected areas. Additionally, he has an MRes from the University of Strathclyde.
Stefan has professional experience working for the INTERACT Programme in Vienna and at the regional development agency ORMO (Organizzazione regionale del Moesano) in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland, where he contributed to the feasibility study for the national park ParcAdula, a pilot project of the Swiss New Regional Policy (NRP) and various INTERREG IIIA projects between Switzerland and Italy. Stefan has also worked for the International Commission for the Protection of the Alps (CIPRA) in Liechtenstein.
Within EPRC, Stefan specialises in research relating to rural development, including LEADER, and the territorial dimension of regional policy and regional development. In the context of EU Cohesion policy, he is an expert of integrated territorial instruments such as Integrated Territorial Investments (ITIs) and Community-led Local Development (CLLD). He is also Capacity Building Advisor for the EU PRO Plus project on integrated territorial development in Serbia.
He has particular expertise on the Alpine countries and undertakes research on Austria and Slovenia for IQ-Net, and Austria and Switzerland for the EoRPA research programme.
Stefan is a native German speaker and also speaks English and Italian.