Prof. Dr. Belina Budini

Prof. Dr. Belina Budini is a distinguished scholar of media and communication studies, serving as Dean of the Faculty of Human Sciences, Education and Liberal Arts and Head of the Department of Human Sciences and Communication at the European University of Tirana (UET). With over two decades of academic and professional experience, she combines leadership in higher education with a strong research and editorial profile.

A Jean Monnet Chair (2024–2027) in European Studies and Media, Prof. Budini leads several national and international projects on journalism, media innovation, and communication in the context of EU integration. She has also been an Academic Visitor and Forum Co-Chair at the European Studies Centre (SEESOX), St Antony’s College, University of Oxford (2020), and has held research and teaching engagements with institutions including Harvard University (2025) and Goldsmiths, University of London, where she completed her M.A. in Media and Communication as a Chevening Scholar. She earned her Ph.D. in Journalism and holds the academic title of Professor.

Prof. Budini’s research focuses on media systems, political communication, mediated politics, and public diplomacy, particularly within post-communist and Western Balkan contexts. Her works explore the relationship between media and democracy, foreign media representations, and the rise of populist politics.

She is the Editor-in-Chief of POLIS, UET’s peer-reviewed academic journal, POLIS, a member of the Academic Senate and a member of the Editorial Committee on Communication and Media at the Academy of Sciences of Albania for the Albanian Encyclopedia..

Prof. Budini has authored and co-authored several influential books and textbooks, including:

• From Isolation to Integration (UET Press & Ombra GVG, 2025)
• The Emergence of Aesthetic Politics in Albania (LR, Paris, 2024)
• Public Relations Today (Palgrave & UET Press, 2023)
• Introduction to Communication (Oxford University Press & UET Press, 2023)
• Influencers (UET Press, 2019; fituese e çmimit kombëtar “At Zef Pllumi”)
• First Look at Communication Theory (McGraw-Hill Education dhe Qendra Arsimore Shqiptare, 2015)
• Albania in Time Magazine, 1923–2013 (UET Press, 2014)
• The Pop-Star Politician: A Case Study Monograph (UET Press, 2009)

Her scholarly work is published in indexed, scientific and peer-reviewed journals, while her editorial and journalistic experience includes contributions to major Albanian newspapers like Shekulli and Panorama.

Her recent projects, including the multimedia exhibitionMedia-Arts and Pop-Politics(Tirana Art Gallery, 2024) and related TV documentaries on Top Channelillustrate her interdisciplinary approach connecting media, digital journalism, and political communication.

Fluent in English, French, and Italian, Prof. Budini continues to engage actively in international academic, cultural, and policy dialogues, contributing to debates on media, democracy, and European integration in Albania and the wider region.