Marija Lugarić

Marija Lugarić has a diverse and extensive work history in various research and consultancy roles. Marija started their career as a Teaching Assistant in Biopsychology at the University of Zagreb/Sveuciliste u Zagrebu in 2015. Marija then worked as an Assistant Researcher at the Croatian Institute of Public Health in 2016. Later, they held multiple positions at the EFPSA (European Federation of Psychology Students' Associations) from 2016 to 2018, including Board of Management Member, Leader of the EFPSA Office, and Team Leader of the EFPSA Evaluation Task Force. In 2018, they worked as a Bioinformatics Researcher at the MRC Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine and as a Graduate Researcher at the University of Edinburgh School of Philosophy, Psychology, and Language Sciences.

In 2018, Marija also started working as a Research Assistant at Zero Waste Scotland. Marija then became a User Research Consultant at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam) in 2019. In 2020, they joined the European Bioinformatics Institute | EMBL-EBI as a User Experience Researcher, and their tenure lasted until October 2022.

Most recently, Marija has started working as the Senior Product User Researcher at Digital.ai in November 2022. Alongside their employment, they founded MLuu Studio in 2021, where they serve as a Digital Media Specialist and Founder. Throughout their career, Marija has gained valuable experience in user research, digital media, bioinformatics, and academia.

Marija Lugarić began their education history by attending Music School Karlovac from 2003 to 2013, where they studied Flute Performance. Afterward, they enrolled at the University of Zagreb/Sveuciliste u Zagrebu and obtained a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Psychology, completing their studies from 2014 to 2017. In 2017, they joined The University of Edinburgh for an MSc by Research degree in Integrative Neuroscience, which they completed in 2018.

Marija furthered their education by pursuing an MSc degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Management Consulting at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam) from 2019 to 2020.

In terms of additional certifications, Marija obtained the ScotPIL Home Office Licence from the UK Home Office in December 2017. Marija also acquired an IELTS Academic certification from the British Council in December 2016. Furthermore, they obtained a Diplôme d'études en langue française (DELF A2) in September 2014 and a Diplôme d'études en langue française (DELF A1) in July 2013, both from the République française.