A / 01
Research
I like methods that reveal structure: clusters, network positions, latent dimensions, regressions and models that preserve the complexity of social phenomena without turning them into unreadable machinery.
Ljubljana · statistics · networks · humans
I find
patterns
in messy things.
I’m Marjan Cugmas — statistician, researcher and university teacher. I work at the intersection of statistical methodology and social science, with a particular weakness for networks, clusters, models and charts that make a complicated idea suddenly click.
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marjan@ljubljana:~$ whoami
statistician / researcher / teacher
marjan@ljubljana:~$ research --focus
multivariate analysis · generalized linear models · network analysis · survey methodology · data visualisation
marjan@ljubljana:~$ research --focus
social support networks · scientific collaboration
online counselling services · statistical methods
marjan@ljubljana:~$ coffee
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marjan@ljubljana:~$ status
curious
01 / about
Quantitative brain.
Analog soul.
A / 02
Teaching
I teach statistics at the University of Ljubljana and spend a suspicious amount of time thinking about how to make difficult ideas visually obvious rather than merely technically correct.
A / 03
Making things
R packages, dashboards, automatically generated reports, slides, tattoo sketches, tiny web experiments and photo archives. I like analysis most when it becomes something tangible.
Always looking for patterns in everyday life — combining and comparing them is one way of learning about the world.
02 / work + education
A statistician
in social science.
My work revolves around the structure behind data: how observations group together, how people are connected, how systems change through time, and how statistical methods can help us ask better questions about those patterns.
2019—now
Assistant Professor
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences.
2015—2019
Young Researcher
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences.
2012—2015
Research + analysis
Research and analytics roles at the University of Ljubljana and the National Institute of Public Health.
Education
PhD · 2019
Statistics
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences.
MA · 2015
Applied Statistics
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Electrical Engineering.
BA · 2013
Social Informatics
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences.
Selected recognition
2023University of Ljubljana Honorary Certificate for Outstanding Pedagogical, Research and Artistic Achievements.
2020Klemen Pavlič Young Statistician Award, Statistical Society of Slovenia.
20172nd Best Poster Award, Statistical Society of Slovenia.
2016Award for outstanding achievement upon completion of the master’s programme.
03 / research
The recurring
questions.
The topics change, but the basic obsession stays fairly constant: what local processes create the larger structure we observe, and how can we measure that structure well?
Social support networks
Who has access to support, who becomes vulnerable, and how support networks shift under major disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Scientific collaboration
Longitudinal patterns of collaboration among researchers, doctoral students and mentors, from individual ties to national and European structures.
Online counselling + health communities
Survey methodology, text mining, machine learning and network analysis applied to large-scale online health and counselling data.
Local mechanisms → global network structure
Coleman’s macro–micro–macro model, network evolution, blockmodeling and the connection between local mechanisms and large-scale structure.
Statistical methodology
Developing and evaluating approaches blockmodeling and for partition comparison.
Statistical software
R packages, Shiny dashboards, reproducible reporting and tools that convert statistical work into usable systems.
04 / projects
Research that
became a thing.
JACARDI
JACARDI is the Joint Action of the European Union that supports European countries in reducing the burden of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, at both individual and health system levels.
Visit JACARDI ↗Mentors + mentees
Research on mentoring relationships and the dynamics of scientific collaboration, following how doctoral collaborations develop through time.
Project record ↗Dynamic blockmodeling
Comparison and evaluation of approaches to blockmodeling dynamic networks, including Monte Carlo simulation studies.
Project record ↗TSJ Dashboard
An interactive web application for real-time analysis and visualization of questions and counsellors’ answers in the Slovenian online counselling service This is me, including exportable aggregated and micro-level data.
Twenty years of questions
Analysis of two decades of counselling questions, combining hand-coded material with supervised machine learning to reconstruct content labels for earlier years.
Cancer-related messages
Machine-learning identification of cancer-related posts in a large online health community. The best-performing random-forest model reached 92% sensitivity and 89% specificity.
Selected supervision + statistical consulting
A few recent student projects where methodological guidance became part of the research story.
The influence of social support and engagement in the online counselling service This is me on empowerment and psychological well-being
Timotej Lenič · Master’s thesis
Characteristics and methods of searching for online health-related information and their association with e-health literacy and sociodemographic factors among adults in Slovenia
Žiga Rebovšek · Master’s thesis
Identification of autistic children with machine learning
Eva Gaberšek · Master’s thesis
Linguistic analysis of suicide-related questions in the online counselling service This is me
Vili Smolič · Master’s thesis
Multiple Testing Corrections: Case of Emissions Coupons’ Price Movements
Anja Ž. Kunaver · Master’s thesis
Sunday projects / because apparently resting is optional
Weather Outlier
A Shiny dashboard built because ordinary weather portals never showed quite the right things — especially how current and forecast weather compare with what is typical.
Weather Outlier Terminal
An 80s-inspired terminal simulator born after a visit to the Slovenian Technical Museum depots in Pivka, created as a one-Sunday experiment with ChatGPT.
Crossword generator
Custom R code for building the annual Festive Stats Puzzle for Social Informatics students — because the free crossword software was not good enough.
See the work around the work.
The research gallery brings together conferences, teaching, collaborations, milestones and selected posters.
05 / videos
Research
in motion.
ThE short films that explain the people, questions and practical value behind the research — without requiring anyone to begin with the methods section.
UNIVERSITY OF LJUBLJANAScientific collaboration
Mentors & Mentees: How a PhD relationship launches a career
Large-scale national data reveal different forms of mentor–mentee collaboration and show how mentorship helps early-career researchers grow, gain independence and enter the scientific community.
Marjan CugmasCOSTNETSocial support
Can we improve social support for the elderly during COVID-19?
Research identifying groups of older adults with insufficient support and the implications for care and crisis planning.
Marjan Cugmas · Anuška FerligojUniversity of LjubljanaStudy statistics
Statistics: doctoral degree programme
A concise introduction to the doctoral programme and the range of specializations available within statistics.
Marjan Cugmas · Anuška Ferligoj · Bor Vratanar06 / toolbox
The things usually
open on my screen.
R
Pajek
SPSS
1KA
Affinity
Microsoft Office
LaTeX
R Markdown
Knitr
Shiny Dashboard
HTML
CSS
nemBM
Tools for network-evolution models and blockmodeling, including generation of temporal networks under selected local mechanisms.
mri
Measures for comparing partitions defined over overlapping, but not necessarily identical, sets of units.
multiUS
Multivariate-analysis functions developed primarily for teaching applied statistics.
dBlockmodeling
Blockmodeling for signed, valued, one-mode and two-mode networks.
handyReport
Utilities for summary tables and selected statistical tests.
ggthemeUL
ggplot2 helpers for charts aligned with the University of Ljubljana visual identity.
07 / teaching
Statistics should
be understandable.
Recent teaching spans applied statistics, data visualisation and network methodology.
COURSE
Making Data Work: Visualization for Insight and Impact
Turning data into graphics that support exploration, explanation and better decisions.
Ljubljana Summer School · 2026COURSE
Generalized Linear Models
From binary and count outcomes to interactions, interpretation and model diagnostics.
University of Ljubljana · Applied Statistics MA · 2024–2025COURSE
Data Visualization + Explorative Data Analysis
Using graphics not as decoration, but as a way to think, diagnose and communicate.
University of Ljubljana · Social Informatics MA · 2022–2025COURSE
Foundations of Data Analytics
Building a statistical mindset before the toolbox gets too large.
University of Ljubljana · Social Informatics MA · 2021–2025COURSE
Multivariate Analysis
Factor structure, classification, dimensions and patterns across many variables.
University of Ljubljana · multiple programmes · 2016–2025WORKSHOP
Unlock Hidden Patterns in Your Data
Cluster and factor analysis with R, taught as practical tools for revealing structure.
Infra4NextGen project · 2025WORKSHOP
Generalized blockmodeling in R
Hands-on teaching at European network conferences and summer schools.
EUSN + Applied Statistics Conference + SNA Summer School · 2021–2023WORKSHOP
Introduction to the Use of R
A practical introduction to working, analysing and thinking with R.
ECPR Summer School · University of Ljubljana · 201508 / selected publications
A few papers
from the shelf.
Not the whole bibliography — just a cross-section showing the thopics that keep reappearing.
2025
Bridging borders or widening gaps? The dynamics of European scientific collaboration networks
Scientometrics · with Anuška Ferligoj, Vladimir Batagelj and Franc Mali.
2024
Longitudinal patterns of scientific collaboration in doctoral studies
Scientometrics · with Franc Mali and Luka Kronegger.
2023
The quality of informational social support in online health communities
Digital Health · content analysis of cancer-related discussions.
2022
Approaches to blockmodeling dynamic networks: A Monte Carlo simulation study
Social Networks · with Aleš Žiberna.
2021
The Relative Fit measure for evaluating a blockmodel
Statistical Methods & Applications · with Aleš Žiberna and Anuška Ferligoj.
2021
Global structures and local network mechanisms of knowledge-flow networks
PLOS ONE · connecting local network mechanisms with global blockmodel structure.
Want the serious bibliography?
Full publications →
Browse the complete publication archive and open the highlighted conference presentations directly.
09 / off hours
There is life
outside the model.
Old-school things, new obsessions.
I’m into 80s aesthetics, analog photography, old electronics, traditional tattoo art, books, hiking, weather and the strange satisfaction of using an object that has more character than efficiency.
10 / contact
Let’s compare
notes.
A question, collaboration or a good reason to get coffee?
Get in touch about statistical methodology, social networks, research collaboration, teaching or a project idea.
InstitutionFaculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana
AddressKardeljeva ploščad 5
1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia