Jakob Patekar holds a double-major M.A. in English Language and Literature and Pedagogy, as well as a Ph.D. in Language Teaching. He spent ten years as a speaking examiner for Cambridge exams and was part of the expert team that developed the Croatian National Curriculum of English. Since 2017, he has been employed at RIT Croatia, an international campus of Rochester Institute of Technology, NY, USA, where he teaches writing courses and public speaking. Since 2023, he has served as the Associate Dean for Research and General Education at RIT Croatia. Additionally, he is an adjunct associate professor at the University of Rijeka, Croatia, where he teaches English language teaching methodology and language assessment. His research interests include cross-linguistic influences, early language learning, language assessment, and GenAI in education. He has published over twenty research articles and presented at more than thirty conferences worldwide.