Dan Podjed is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Slovenian Ethnology at ZRC SAZU and holds the title of Full Professor at the University of Ljubljana's Faculty of Arts. He is the founder and Executive Advisor of the Applied Anthropology Network of the European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA) and the initiator of the international symposium Why the World Needs Anthropologists, which has been held annually since 2013. His main research interests include isolation, crises, human–technology relationships, sustainable lifestyles, and the study of everyday life. The Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency (ARIS) has twice recognized his work as an outstanding scientific achievement, in 2011 and 2021. He also received the honorary title Science Communicator of the Year 2024, awarded by the Slovenian Science Foundation.
Research by Dan Podjed focuses on the relationships between people, technologies, and the environment, with particular attention to isolation, crises, and everyday life. His work addresses key questions about how digital technologies – including smartphones, online platforms, and emerging AI solutions – reshape social interactions, identities, and habits, as well as how they can support more sustainable ways of living. He has led and participated in numerous national and international research projects funded by ARIS and the EU, including projects on isolated communities, sustainable mobility, waste management, and the people-centred development of technological solutions. His research combines ethnographic and interdisciplinary approaches and has had both academic and societal impact, contributing to policy discussions and innovation processes.
He is closely connected to major research institutions and networks, including the European Association of Social Anthropologists (EASA), where he has played a leading role in the Applied Anthropology Network (AAN). From 2024 to 2026, he was a Visiting Fellow at the Ethnographic Impact Lab (eLAB) at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
His current and future research further explores the societal and ethical implications of digital transformation, particularly the changing role and meaning of work in the context of automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence, with an emphasis on developing people-centred solutions that support individuals and communities in navigating digital transformation.
Podjed, Dan, and Carla Guerrón Montero, eds. 2026. Why the World Needs Anthropologists. 2nd ed. New York and London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Podjed, Dan. 2024. Krizolacija: Znanstveno branje o izoliranih ljudeh. Ljubljana: Založba ZRC and Cankarjeva založba.
Pretnar Žagar, Ajda, and Dan Podjed. 2024. “Ethnography beyond Thick Data.” Annals of Anthropological Practice 48 (2): 272–288.
Peternel, Lana, and Dan Podjed. 2024. “Container Life in Post-earthquake Croatia.” Focaal: European Journal of Anthropology: 1–14.
Podjed, Dan, and Rajko Muršič. 2021. “To Be or Not to Be There: Remote Ethnography during the Crisis and Beyond.” Etnolog 31: 35–51.
Podjed, Dan. 2021. “Renewal of Ethnography in the Time of the COVID-19 Crisis.” Sociologija i prostor 59 (219): 267–284.
- Ethnological, anthropological and folklore studies research on everyday life (research programme • January 1, 2022 - December 31, 2027)
- BLUE - Restoring urban blue spaces through nature-based solutions and social interventions to improve human well being and environment (fundamental research project • January 1, 2025 - December 31, 2027)
- Reimagining public values in algorithmic futures (October 1, 2022 - September 30, 2025)
- Periphery in the center: Inclusion and exclusion of anthropology researchers in leading international scientific activities (bilateral project • July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2026)
- Isolated People and Communities in Slovenia and Croatia (bilateral project • October 1, 2022 - September 30, 2025)
- Create to Connect > Create to Impact (international project • September 1, 2018 - August 31, 2022)
- The Invisible Life of Waste: Development of an Ethnography-based Solution for Waste Management in Households (applied project • November 1, 2018 - October 31, 2021)
- DriveGreen: Development of an Ecodriving Application for a Transition to a Low-carbon Society (interdisciplinary project • July 1, 2014 - June 30, 2017)
- 2025: Science Communicator of the Year 2024, awarded by the Slovenian Science Foundation
- 2023: Bob of the Year 2022 award, organised by the newspaper Večer
- 2021: Outstanding scientific achievement of 2020, awarded by the Slovenian Research Agency (book Why the World Needs Anthropologists)
- 2013: Outstanding scientific achievements of 2011, awarded by ARRS in ethnology (book Observing the Observers) and anthropology (article in Environment and Planning C)
- 2008: Award for outstanding achievements, University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Arts
- 2026: Member of the ED.VITA Award Committee for achievements in sustainability in higher education; awarded by the Slovenian Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (NAKVIS) and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation (MVZI)
- 2025–2026: Member of the selection committee for the Internal Communication Person of the Year award, organised by Mediade and the KIK conference
- 2024–2025: Member of the expert group for defining five core values of Slovenia (vrednote.si), at the invitation of the President of the Republic of Slovenia
- 2023–2026: Member of the selection committee for awards for best audiovisual works, organised by AIPA
- 2023–2025: Member of the selection committee for the Best Slovenian Teacher award (Učitelj sem! / Učiteljica sem!), organised by AmCham, Delo, and Rokus Klett
- 2023–2024: Member of the Praxis Award selection committee, organised by the Society for Applied Anthropology
- 2023: Member of the selection committee for the Prometheus of Science award, organised by the Slovenian Science Foundation
- 2020–2022: Member of the selection committee for the Watchdog journalism awards, organised by the Slovenian Journalists’ Association
- 2016–2020: Member of the Scientific Council for the Humanities at the Slovenian Research Agency (representative for anthropology)