Madina Junussova

Madina Junussova is an international expert working in the areas of Urban and Regional Planning, Environmental Protection and Local Governance. Since 2004, she has been working as an independent consultant providing professional assessments for local planning companies, local and national government of Kazakhstan, as well as international institutions. Madina was involved in the local development projects (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan) financed by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation and etc.

Madina believes that for being a good planner it is important to be engaged in the continuous process of learning and cooperation. She equally respects practical experience and academic, theoretical research. She started her university education from architecture and urban design and then continued her post-graduate study on urban and regional planning. In 2012, Madina got a scholarship provided by the Faculty Development of the cross-border University of Central Asia (UCA) and now she is doing her PhD in Public Policy at the School of Public Policy and Administration of Carleton University. The topic of her research is “Local Government and Economic Development in Kazakhstan”. In parallel, Mrs Junussova serves as the Research Associate at the Institute of Public Policy and Administration of the UCA.

Peter van de Laak

Peter van de Laak, educated in land en water management at Wageningen University, is working as a private consultant in the field of environmental and spatial planning (www.milieuregie.nl). His main field of expertise is strategic environmental impact assessment (SEA), sustainable urban development and environmental policy.

Before he started as a private consultant he worked for several consultancy companies, including TNO National Organization of Scientific Research. He conducted research and consultancy for several major cities (Haarlemmermeer, Eindhoven, Utrecht) and regional authorities in the Netherlands. Examples of research projects are: Integral Chain Management and Spatial Organisation in the Rotterdam and Amsterdam harbour region, Research programme Economy, Spatial Planning and Environment (Dutch ministery of Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment), Sustainable Business Parks. At the moment he is member of the project team that is revising the integral plan for the physical environment of one of the provinces in the Netherlands. He has given lectures at the Radboud University Nijmegen and Windesheim Academy Zwolle.