Balluerka Lasa, Nekane

Nekane Balluerka Lasa (Ordizia, Gipuzkoa, 1966) obtained her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) in 1989 and a PhD from the same university in 1993, winning the Special Award in both cases. On completing her bachelor’s degree she began to work as a lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology.

She is Full Professor of Methodology of Behavioral Sciences since 2009. Her research lines focus on methodology for the development and intercultural adaptation of assessment instruments, on models for data analysis in the social and behavioural sciences, and on the design, implementation and evaluation of intervention programs in different areas of psychology. She has managed several contracts with private and public entities. Furthermore, she has managed or she has taken part in many competitive research projects. She is the principal investigator of the group Qualiker, recognized as group A of the Basque University System.

She is author and co-author of numerous scientific papers, books, book chapters, and manuals of assessment tools. She has directed or co-directed several doctoral theses that have been recognized with European mention, international mention, Special Doctoral Studies Award at the University of the Basque Country, and the Realidad Social Vasca (“Basque Social Reality”) prize awarded by the Basque Governnment. She has made numerous contributions to national and international conferences and she has also been invited guest speaker in some of them.

She has been visiting researcher at Arizona State University (1995), the University of California (2005) and the Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research at the University of Manchester (2010).

Nekane has a long track record in university management. She is a founding member of the Spanish Association of Methodology of Behavioral Sciences (AEMCCO) and of the European Association of Methodology (EAM). She is currently vice-president of the AEMCCO and member of the Executive Committee of the EAM. She is also member of the board of trustees of the Basque Foundation for Science, Ikerbasque, and of the scientific advisory board of the Valencian Community Foundation for Excellence in Research (ValER). She was editor of the official journal of the EAM: Methodology. European Journal of Research Methods for the Behavioral and Social Sciences.

She has worked as an external assessor for the AQU (Agency for the Quality of the University System in Catalonia) for 6 years. She was Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Psychology (2004-2006), Vice-Rector for Quality and Teaching Innovation (2006-2009) and for Posgraduate Studies and International Relations (2012-2016), member of the University Teaching Assessment Committee (2007-2012) and member (2009-2012) and subsequently Chair (2012-2013) of the Ethics Committee for Research and Teaching Practice with Human Beings at the University of the Basque Country. She has held the position of Rector of the University of the Basque Country between 2017 and 2021, period in which she also was member of the Standing Committee of CRUE (Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities). She has been named Chevalier de l’Ordre des Palmes académiques by the Government of the French Republic (2021), has received the Euskadi Prize for Research in Social Sciences and Humanities (2021) and has been named Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Aconcagua (Chile) (2023).