The IMISCOE PhD Academy is excited to announce 13 new members as the fourth cohort of the Academy. The Academy connects PhD students in the broad field of migration research and provides migration research training and mentoring, supporting the IMISCOE PhD network community. This year we received an outstanding number of high-quality applications from a broad spectre of fields, methods, and backgrounds.
We are excited to welcome the new cohort and are looking forward to taking part in their academic journeys as the next generation of migration scholars.
Sevilay Cesurer
London College of Communication, University of the Arts London
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sevilay-cesurer/
Twitter handle: @Sevilayces
My PhD research spans the interdisciplinary fields of gender, media, and migration studies, focusing on how Palestinian women living in the London diaspora navigate their online and offline everyday lives amidst conflict back home. It explores the central question: How do Palestinian women in London use TikTok, and what are the performative and gendered aspects of their engagement? I am eager to join the IMISCOE PhD Academy to deepen my knowledge through migration-related trainings and workshops. I also hope to become part of a care-driven community—connect with fellow PhD students to collectively learn, grow, and exchange knowledge through our diverse experiences and standpoints.
Pooja Priya
University College Cork
Linkedin ID: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pooja-priya-9098b0166/
My PhD research investigates the homemaking processes of Nigerian and Congolese migrants in New Delhi, India. I am excited to join the IMISCOE PhD Academy, as it offers a supportive and collaborative space to exchange with and learn from other PhD students, who share a passion for migration issues and research and hopefully, i will be able to gain and provide insights on African migraton and homemaking processes, within the Global South cities.
Md Abdul Kader
Università degli Studi di Messina
Linkedln: linkedin.com/in/md-abdul-kader-21a90ba1
My PhD project focuses on EU migration governance. Specifically, I am exploring the new pact on migration, the return policy, and the temporary protection directive. I want to attend the IMISCOE PhD academy to deepen my understanding of EU migration and further develop my research. It is a platform for diverse backgrounds and interdisciplinary experts, which will help me to connect with the migration networks.
Chun Hong Yan
University of Southampton
Twitter/X account - @YanMason030.
My PhD research investigates the migration and education experiences of Hong Kong British National (Overseas) migrants in the UK through the lens of socio-materialism, which explores how human beings and material objects co-shape social realities. I am honoured to be part of the IMISCOE PhD Academy, and I hope to contribute my knowledge about East Asian migrants whilst learning from the diverse scholars in the academy. Additionally, I am eager to co-develop timely and innovative research with other members of the academy.
Sharon Anyango
Maastricht University, The Netherlands
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-anyango/
My PhD research is about evolving gender expectations of East African refugees in the Netherlands. I specifically look at Somali and Eritrean refugees who have been in the Netherlands for at least five years, and how they negotiate and construct gender expectations. Being a member of the IMISCOE PhD Academy will allow me to further develop my knowledge and learn from other researchers in the field of migration. Secondly, it is because of the networking opportunity IMISCOE will provide me with during my PhD journey. As a starter, I am aware that I will need all the support I can get from those who have been through the same trajectory. Lastly, I am excited about IMISCOE’s collaboration with journals such as Springer where I can disseminate my research to the wider public.
Filipa Saraiva
University of Coimbra, Portugal
Linkedin Handle: www.linkedin.com/in/filipasaraiva
Twitter Handle: @filipasaraiva_"
My PhD research explores the nexus between overfishing and climate-induced migration in Cape Verde's coastal communities, especially among children and young people. My integration into the IMISCOE PhD Academy, being at the beginning of my research, was strongly motivated by the desire to engage with a community of scholars dedicated to understanding the complexities of migration. By prioritising interdisciplinary approaches, I believe that it is possible to acquire new and diverse perspectives, and contribute to the collective efforts in developing inclusive, informed, and effective migration research.
Jessica Jordi
KU Leuven
My PhD research explores the memories and lived experiences of Burundian displaced individuals in transit to South Africa. -- Becoming a member of the IMISCOE PhD Academy offers me a chance to engage with and learn from fellow scholars and practitioners. As my research is closely connected to memory studies, joining the Academy will provide an opportunity to bridge the gap between these disciplines and deepen my understanding of migration dynamics.
Sorina Carstea
My Ph.D. research focuses on the transnational political participation of intra-European migrants. Specifically, I examine the factors that motivate Romanian migrants residing in France, Belgium, and Luxembourg to engage in the politics of their home country. I decided to apply to the IMISCOE PhD Academy because I believe it offers a great opportunity to connect with other scholars, engage in fruitful discussions, and deepen my knowledge and understanding of how to conduct meaningful research – beneficial for the participants in my studies, academia, and for my own development.
Rukayat Atinuke Usman
University of Ibadan
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/rukayat-usman/
My PhD research is about the mobility trajectories of young IDPs exiting camps. I explore the camp-exit pathways, routes, infrastructure and affective communities that shape the decision and voyage of young IDPs in the North-East region of Nigeria. I am thrilled to join the IMISCOE PhD Academy because of its rich, highly diversified community of scholars collaborating to advance the frontiers of migration research and understanding. I am particularly impressed at its robust structures that provide a platform for collaboration and advancement.
Stimmatini Sofia
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sofia-stimmatini-448aa21b8/
My PhD research investigates border disappearances in Morocco, focusing on the experiences of families of missing migrants. Joining the IMISCOE PhD Academy offers a valuable opportunity to connect with fellow PhD students in migration studies, fostering collaborative learning and mutual support. I believe in the richness of collective thinking and hope the Academy will provide a space to exchange ideas, navigate the theoretical, methodological, and ethical challenges within migration studies, and critically reflect on the broader academic life.
Denis Zekovic
Technical University Chemnitz
LinkedIn: Denis Zeković
X: @DenisZekovic
My PhD research is about the role of resilience and the receiving society in local migration governance. I wanted to join the PhD Academy to connect to other junior scholars around the globe. A PhD being lonely at times due to the special focus, with the academy we can help each other and exchange ideas.
Mukul Bhowmick
University of Essex
X: https://x.com/mukul__bhowmick (@mukul__bhowmick)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mukulbhowmick
My PhD research shifts away from a South-to-North emancipatory discourse on queer migrations and seeks to understand the intersections of migration and mental health among sexual minorities moving internally in India. I hope to contribute to a nascent scholarship on queer migrations by exploring its interplay with mental health and wellbeing. I was motivated to join the IMISCOE PhD Academy to learn from a multidisciplinary network of migration researchers and amplify marginalised voices from this part of the world. As part of the cohort, I am excited about widening my professional network more globally and finding opportunities of collaboration in the field of migration and health more broadly.
Tanatswa Silvanus Chineka
Joint PhD: Public Health (University of Essex); Migration and Displacement (University of Witwatersrand)
Twitter/X handle: @tasilvac93
LinkedIn: (2) Tanatswa (Silvanus) Chineka | LinkedIn
My PhD examines how access to health care by unaccompanied migrant boys in Zimbabwe is shaped by their experiences of masculinities and exercise of agency, as they move. The study interrogates the intersections between the notions of gender (experience of masculinities/femininity), age (being a minor/teenager), migrant identity (being unaccompanied) and migrant status (being irregular). I am interested to explore how this intersection simultaneously frames/is framed by child agency, and in turn determine health care access.
I am enthused to be part of the IMISCOE PhD Academy, as It offers a diversely unique opportunity to engage with and learn from fellow PhD candidates from various disciplines. Being a part of the IMISCOE network provides a supportive space to interact with and contribute to the development of cutting edge knowledge and competencies in the field of migration-health.