The Max van der Stoel Institute (MVDSI), established in March of 2012 and based at South East European University, is an interdisciplinary scientific institute with a focus on social sciences and information & communication technologies.

The Institute’s namesake, Max van der Stoel, was the former Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE) High Commissioner on National Minorities. Van der Stoel played an active and significant role in regional conflict prevention, and was one of the key figures in SEEU’s design and establishment. The bulk of MVDSI’s work is in both conducting research, and designing and implementing research projects throughout the region. This work is carried out through the three research groups which comprise the Ins–titute: the Distributed Systems and Data Science Group (DSG), the Social Sciences Group (SSG), and the Environment and Health Group (EHG).

MVDSI is a part of South East European University (SEEU), a private-public, not-for-profit institution of higher education. Specializing in socioeconomic and technological sciences, SEEU’s array of faculties, centres, and institutes all work today toward a better tomorrow – making it the first university in North Macedonia to obtain the EU Commission’s “HR Excellence in Research (HRS4R)” badge.