Experts Database

Girmachew received his Ph.D. degree in Social Sciences from the University of Adelaide with Dean’s Commendation. He was a Research Fellow at the Hugo Center for Population and Migration Research, University of Adelaide. His work focuses on migration, remittances, return, reintegration, diaspora engagement and transnational migrant networks. Independently or as part of a team, Girmachew was actively involved in providing consultancy services for various NGOs and International organizations. He has published on the cause and consequences of migration as well as transnational family ties.

I'm a PhD candidate in Social Anthropology at University of St Andrews. My research focuses on love and emotional experiences of the transnational Chinese community in Jamaica. I have recently completed my doctoral fieldwork in Kingston (Jan 2023 – Feb 2024). Currently I am the PhD representative of the Standing Committee on Migrant Transnationalism (MITRA).

am currently the Post doctoral Fellow at the Department of Sociology at Maynooth University. My project, "Interpreting Justice: An Exploration of Chinese Immigrants' Experiences in the Immigration System in Ireland" is partnered with the Crosscare Migrant Project. I am co-supervised by Dr Rebecca King-O'Riain at the Department of Sociology and Ms Amy Tyndall from Crosscare Migrant Project. My research aims to investigate Chinese immigrants' experiences obtaining policy-related information and how that might shape providing professional, up-to-date consulting services by Chinese and English language-speaking advisers.

I obtained my BA in Museum Studies and Archaeology (2013) from Nankai University, MA in Museum and Gallery Studies (2014) from University of St. Andrews, and PhD in History (2021) from Trinity College Dublin. My PhD research was funded by the TCD Studentship Award. It examine the sweeping changes in the material culture of Republican Shanghai by focusing on the production and adaptation of medical equipment, as well as the political, cultural and social variations proactively brought by politicians, medical professionals, intellectuals, the media and consumers.

After obtaining my PhD degree, I had three years of experience teaching Chinese language at the Department of Chinese Studies at Maynooth University. I am very interested in innovative and project-based learning. My “DIY Audiobooks” project was selected for the 2022 SPARK Initiative. My experimental collaboration with the UK-China Film Collab led to the Summer Programme for Undergraduate Research (SPUR) project “The Influence of Films on Students’ Chinese Language Learning Experience” and a feasibility study on collaborations between educational Institutes and art organisations. I have also been exploring the combination of escape rooms and language study. My project, “The Construction of Cultural Products Combining Immersive Games and Chinese Teaching”, part of the International Chinese Language Teaching Practice Innovation Project (YHJXCX22-058), funded by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation in China, will launch three escape games for Chinese language learners in October 2023, together with my co-investigators, Ms Yang Cheng and Ms Can Shao.

Apart from my research and language teaching role, I began my work with the Crosscare Migrant Project as a volunteer interpreter in 2017. Then, I became an Information and Advocacy Officer at Crosscare Migrant Project in March 2022, providing information on immigration to the Chinese community in Ireland. The client work has made me realise the lack of social support and voice for the Chinese and other immigrants, inspiring me to bring such issues to my academic career.

Jan 2021 - now, Ph.D. candidate, Population Research Center, University of Groningen

I am Olha Zhmurko, a researcher and founder of the Vox Populi Agency in Ukraine (VPA has been operating since 2018).
Currently, I am in Brno, Czech Republic, studying at the Department of Sociology at Masaryk University. I also work at the Czech Social Data Archive at the Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Sciences. I am staying in the Czech Republic as a person with temporary protection due to the Russian aggression in Ukraine.
I have practical experience in implementing social research, participating in the development of recommendations and policies related to the displacement of internal migrants in Ukraine, protection of the rights of the Roma minority, etc.
During my professional career, I have worked closely as a researcher or consultant for UNDP, European Council, USAID, and Open Society Networks.

Layla Zibar is an Urban Researcher and has a Dual Doctoral degree in Architectural Engineering from Brandenburg University of Technology (Germany) & KU Leuven (Belgium). Her research focuses on the intersections of Forced displacement, territories, spatial transformations, memory and questions of multi-scaler homes. In her PhD, she explored the long history of Kurd forced migration waves in the region and the spatial dimension of “displacements receiving sites” which appear to be (re) aggregating the overall urban landscape.