8_Kronika.indd


87Chronicle – Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 64 (2015) (3) 343–344.Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 65 2016 (1)                                                                                                           87

C H R O N I C L E

In memoriam Saša Kicošev (1960–2015)

The Hungarian community of geography was de-
pressed by the news that Saša Kicošev, full professor 
of the University of Novi Sad, passed away on 29 May 
2015. Born in Novi Sad on 18th of November 1960, 
he graduated from the Faculty of Natural Sciences, 
Geography Major in 1983 in Novi Sad. Aft er that he 
obtained his Master’s degree in 1987 at the Faculty of 
Natural Sciences in Belgrade. His Master thesis was 
titled Socio-demographic and geographical characteristics 
of ethnic Slovaks in the SAP Vojvodina, which already 
indicated his future research interest. Aft er receiving 
his master degree, he started to teach in primary 
schools in the vicinity of his home town and later in 
Novi Sad. In 1989 he received his PhD at the Faculty 
of Natural Sciences, University of Novi Sad, aft er 
defending his doctoral thesis with the title Geographic 
and demographic characteristics of ethnic Romanians in 
SAP Vojvodina. He started his academic career in 
1989 as an assistant lecturer and later he was pro-
moted as an assistant professor in 1991 and as a full 
professor in 2001 at the Department of Geography, 
Tourism and Hotel Management, Faculty of Natural 
Sciences, University of Novi Sad. He was also for a 
time-being lecturer at the University of Skopje and 
at the University of Niš.

Aft er its foundation in 1997, he became the Head 
of GIS Centre at the Institute of Geography in Novi 
Sad. Between 2002 and 2012, he was the Head of the 
Department of Hotel Management, and since 2012 
the Head of Human Geography Chair as part of 
the Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel 
Management. He mentored 118 diploma papers, 5 
master theses, 6 specialist papers, 7 magister theses 
and 15 doctoral dissertations. He also participated in 
many extra-curricular activities with the students of 
the department and he was the organizer of several 
fi eldtrips and practical trainings abroad.

Saša Kicošev’s research interest covered many 
fi elds of human geography including spatial plan-
ning, demography, geography of population, geog-
raphy of tourism, ethnic geography, political geog-
raphy, regional geography, environment studies and 
GIS. In these fi elds he (co-)authored 12 books (mostly 
textbooks), 234 scientifi c papers and several other 
publications like ethnic maps and regional atlases. 
He also held more than hundred scientifi c presenta-
tions. In his works he focused mainly on his home 
region, Vojvodina; analysed its demographic, ethnic, 

social and eco-
nomic processes; 
investigated its 
special multieth-
nic characteris-
tics. He was also 
interested in the 
geopolitical issues 
of the Balkans and 
its demographic 
consequences.

He was actively 
involved in inter-
national co-opera-

tions mainly with colleagues from the neighbouring 
countries. Beyond teaching in some of these coun-
tries, he had close links to universities and academic 
institutions in Greece, Romania (Cluj-Napoca and 
Timişoara), Bulgaria (Sofi a), Macedonia (Skopje), 
Hungary (Budapest) and Switzerland (Bern). His 
intense cooperation with colleagues from the 
Geographical Institute of the Hungarian Academy 
of Science and the Eötvös Loránd University 
in Budapest resulted in joint scientific projects 
(TRANSMIG: Integrating (trans)national migrants 
in transition states, 2009–2012) and several joint pa-
pers. He became member of the editorial board of 
Hungarian Geographical Bulletin in 2009 and sup-
ported the cooperation and joint publication activities 
between Serbian and Hungarian geographers also 
in this capacity. In addition, he was member of the 
editorial board of Institute of Geography – Collection 
of Papers and the editorial board of Human 
Geographies Journal in 2013. He was also member 
of the Committ ee for Social Sciences of Matica Srpska, 
the executive board of Serbian Geographical Society, 
the European Association for Demographic Research 
and the Association of Balkan Statisticians.

We Hungarian geographers will always keep a 
good memory of Saša Kicošev, as a distinguished 
scholar and close friend of Hungarian colleagues.

Patrik Tátrai