Migration and Social Policy Research Group: studies on the governance, shaping and use of (local) social policy with reference to refugee migration
Prof. Dr. Ute Klammer is Executive Director at the Institute for Work, Skills and Training (IAQ) and Professor at the Social Science Faculty at the University of Duisburg-Essen. She is responsible for the FIS research group “Migration and Social Policy” and provides scientific support.
Dr. Thorsten Schlee is head of the “Migration and Social Policy” Research Group at the Institute for Work, Skills and Training (IAQ) at the University of Duisburg-Essen. He previously worked as a pedagogical employee with young adults transitioning from school to work. He then worked as a research associate at the University of Duisburg-Essen, at Hochschule Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences and TH Köln University of Applied Sciences. He examines science, democracy and state theoretical questions in world societal terms. His current project is on the changed relationship of (forced) migration and national welfare statehood and examines forms of coproduction of the local labour market by refugees.
Sandrine Bakoben is a research associate at the Institute for Work, Skills and Training (IAQ) of the University of Duisburg-Essen. She is currently working on her doctoral thesis within the “Migration and Social Policy” research group on the topic “Integration through Education? Case studies on the taking of educational opportunities by young refugees from sub-Saharan Africa”. Between 2009 and 2011 she was the International Project Coordinator for the association “be your own hero. eV / Agentur Abenteuerhaus” in Wolfsburg. From 2011-2017 she operated as a communication and international sales manager in a medium-sized company in Braunschweig. As a political scientist and native of sub-Saharan Africa, she was also interested in development policy issues related to sub-Saharan Africa during her studies at Braunschweig Technical University (TU Braunschweig). In this context, her MA thesis was devoted to the topic of The New Chinese Africa Policy. The aim of the study is to contribute to a differentiated and detailed understanding of the motives behind China’s increased involvement in Africa since the turn of the millennium.
Dr. Katrin Menke is a sociologist. She researches, teaches and writes mainly on social inequalities and intersectionality, the changing welfare state, in particular labor market, asylum and family / gender equality policies as well as the sociology of migration.
Katrin Menke studied social sciences at the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf and the Humboldt University in Berlin. She worked for a smaller research facility (SowiTra) and the DGB trade union federation on the federal executive board. She then carried out her doctorate in the “TransSoz: Life in the Transformed Welfare State” at the University of Duisburg-Essen, the University of Düsseldorf and the Technical University of Cologne. Her qualitative study on "'Freedom of Choice' of Working Mothers and Fathers? Employment and care work from an intersectional perspective“ was published in 2019 by Transcript Verlag.
Katrin Menke's current project within the research group “migration and social policy” deals with the differential inclusions and exclusions of refugee women with a view to their participation in the labor market. From an intersectional perspective, she is particularly interested in the importance of interdependent categories such as gender and race as well as in the interplay of discourses, policies and the self-concepts of women. Her research is based on reconstructive social research and brings together the experiences of local labor market actors as well as those of refugee women.
Andrea Rumpel studied educational science, sociology and comparative religious studies at the University of Tübingen until 2013 and started dealing with the topics of asylum and (forced) migration. In her thesis she dealt with asylum policy, structural racism and social work with undocumented immigrants. After working for a year in classes for refugees (“Internationale Förderklassen”) at a school, she carried out a project regarding conflicts in volunteer work in the field of refugee assistance at the IKG (Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence) of Bielefeld University. Since October 2017 she has been working on her doctoral thesis within the “Migration and Social Policy” research group on the topic “Refugees and local health policy. A qualitative study exemplified by substance use”.
Varthini Sivapatham is employed as a research assistant at the Institute for Work, Skills and Training (IAQ) and is involved in the project Migration and Social Policy. She is currently finishing her Master’s degree in Sociology, with a specialization in work, occupation and organization, at the University of Duisburg-Essen. In addition to her main focus, she has increasingly dealt with socio-political issues and questions. During her studies, she worked as research trainee at the Chair of Criminology, Criminal Policy and Police Science at the Ruhr University Bochum on the project Escape as a Security problem. Recently she was employed as a management assistant in a consulting and investment company
Finn van Erp studied political science at the University of Duisburg-Essen where he worked as a tutor and student assistant for the chair of political theory. His thesis focused on the governmental and biopolitical rationalities of an european external border. Currently he is finishing his M.A. in educational theory at the University of Wuppertal where he also works for the Institute of educational science. Additionally he organises talks and workshops for a local NS-documentation.
Salah El-Kahil is a student assistant at the Institute for Work, Skills and Training (IAQ) and in the “Migration and Social Policy” research group. In 2017 he also worked at the Department of Sociology for Prof. Dr. Frank Kleemann. He has been studying at the University of Duisburg-Essen since 2014 and is currently completing his M.A. in Sociology. His main focus is on migration, religion and racism.
Former Staff
Camila Marques Eusébio is a student assistant at the Institute for Work, Skills and Training (IAQ) and in the “Migration and Social Policy” research group. She holds a law degree from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and has been studying Social Work (B.A.) at the University of Duisburg-Essen since 2018. Her research focuses on (forced) migration, integration of refugee women and user research.
