Robert is an applied researcher in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation with an interdisciplinary background. Originally trained as a civil engineer (BSc and MSc from the University of Split in Croatia), he holds an interdisciplinary MSc in Flood Risk Management from four European universities (IHE Delft, TU Dresden, UPC Barcelona, and the University of Ljubljana).

Robert finalized his PhD at Heriot-Watt University as a Hydro Nation Scholar of the Scottish Government. His PhD, based on qualitative research, focused on understanding the role local knowledge plays in community-based flood risk management in Malawi. For his PhD, he was nominated for the MacFarlane Prize.

Robert joined King’s College London from Practical Action, an international NGO where he worked on climate and resilience, focusing on robust evidence-generation from projects on the ground and on supporting civil society in climate negotiations.

He is a Vice President of the Water Youth Network, where he co-founded the Disaster Risk Reduction Team. Through his work with WYN, he collaborated with GFDRR and UNDRR and currently serves as a member of the Ad Hoc Steering Group for UNESCO’s Youth Climate Action Network.

Research

At King’s College, Robert is working as a Research Associate as a part of the UKRI Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Tomorrow’s Cities project. Working with the city teams in Nairobi, Kathmandu, Quito, and Istanbul, he is focusing on characterising multi-hazards and their interactions by using interdisciplinary methodologies. Robert is especially interested in applied research and its practical application by exploring how research can be used to catalyse change in policy and practice. He also does research in community-based disaster risk reduction and is interested in further exploring approaches for knowledge co-production. He is as a drafting author of the UNDRR’s Words into Action Guide on the role of traditional knowledge in disaster risk reduction.

Research interests

• Multi-hazards and their interactions
• Community-based disaster risk reduction and locally-led adaptation
• Knowledge co-production in disaster and climate policy and practice
• Novel approaches for integrating physical and social sciences in disaster and climate research