Communication science studies at the University Duisburg-Essen and economic studies at the Distant University in Hagen. Since 2006 researcher at the Institute for Work and Technology, Westphalian University and part of the research department ‘Innovation, Space & Culture’. Here, she leads the thematic priotity 'Migration & Innovation'. Above all, she considers how immigrants contribute to regional innovation systems, but also how migration as an phenomenon shapes innovative actions within countries, regions and institutions. Her special focus lies at concepts of empowerment of immigrants as employees as well as regional potentials of immigrant entrepreneurs. She was lead partner and partner of several national and EU projects on migration related issues and was giving her expertise to several German ministries and the Integration Commisioner of the German Federal Goverment on Immigrant Entrepreneurship. In addition, she is involved in topics of distrimination and migrations narratives within Europe.
She wrote her doctoral thesis at the University of Twente (Department of Governance and Technology for Sustainability) in Enschede (NL) titled: „Human Capital and the Role of Networks – Migration, Inclusion and New Qualification for a Sustainable Regional Economy” and worked two years as a consultant in Bern, Switzerland.