Interview with Prof. Dr. Vladica Stojanović—Winner of the Mathematics 2024 Outstanding Reviewer Award
Prof. Dr. Vladica Stojanović is a full professor at the Department of Informatics and Computer Sciences of the University of Criminal Investigation and Police Studies in Belgrade, Serbia. He completed his undergraduate and master's studies at the Department of Mathematics of the Faculty of Science in Niš and received his Ph.D. at the Department of Mathematics of the Faculty of Science in Kosovska Mitrovica. His main research interests are in the field of applied mathematics, primarily statistics, probability theory, time series analysis, and data analytics. In 2023, he received the award for outstanding reviewer for the journal Mathematics, and in 2025, he has received two more awards for the journals Mathematics and Axioms.
Name: Prof. Dr. Vladica Stojanović
Affiliation: Department of Informatics and Computer Sciences, University of Criminal Investigation and Police Studies, Cara Dušana Street 196, Belgrade, Serbia
Research interests: statistics; probability theory; time series analysis; data analytics; applied mathematics; computing in mathematics and natural science
The following is a short interview with Prof. Dr. Vladica Stojanović:
1. How do you feel about winning the award?
The role of reviewer has always been interesting to me. I try to keep up with what people are working on, which helps me learn, and I enjoy helping my colleagues improve their papers with my advice. I have reviewed 141 papers for MDPI. This is the second time I have won the award. The first time, I did not expect it since I had just started reviewing. I made sure to be as precise, clear, and illustrative as possible in my reviews.
2. What is the average time to write a review?
There is no specific rule. It takes a few days to really focus on a paper, but it varies. Some papers are easy to read and review, while others are more enjoyable, and some are harder to understand. In those cases, I need to search for additional sources to learn more myself.
3. How often would you like to review?
I sign up for reviews myself and am happy to be invited as often as needed. Since winning this award, I have been getting more invitations to review, but that is perfectly fine with me.
4. How do you manage to write detailed and efficient reviews quickly? What are the key points for reviews to be outstanding?
Deadlines are not long, so I treat reviewing as an interesting hobby between my teaching and other responsibilities. The key is to love what you do; if you love your job, it does not feel like work at all. It is very fulfilling, and I would recommend it to other scientists, as it is a great way to stay informed about current research and upcoming papers that could be helpful.
5. Can you recommend hot topics?
I completed my Ph.D. on time series, a specialized area within statistics and probability theory, which is always relevant. My colleagues are leaning toward artificial intelligence, and my field has a lot of applications there as well. I would recommend topics related to applied mathematics, especially those related to software implementations or security.
6. What do you think about OA (Open Access)?
I support open access because of the speed; it is easier for scientists to quickly know where they stand. Mathematics is one of my favorite journals, which is why I have reviewed the most papers there. It offers a wide range of topics, is highly ranked, publishes quickly, and has great visibility. I rarely choose journals outside MDPI nowadays. I also think the deadline for reviewers could be a bit longer; while I am used to the current deadlines, some papers are quite long.
7. Do you have any suggestions?
I have no further suggestions. I am a Guest Editor for the journal Axioms, and the first Special Issue was a great success. I may open a Special Issue in Mathematics in the future, as I am working on a new mathematical model for analyzing the dynamics of criminal activity.