Doctoral Candidates
Anouck Baraud - Koç University
Anouck Baraud holds a Master’s degree in Migration Studies from EHESS and the University Paris 1 Panthé on Sorbonne, with a background in Political Science and International Relations. She has worked across France and Türkiye with civil society organizations and research institutions, focusing on refugee rights, urban transformations, and grassroots cultural practices. Her research interests include the spatial dynamics of migration, urban inclusion, and participatory governance. As a doctoral candidate within the EuroMedMig PhD Network, she investigates how migrant-frequented third places—both informal and institutional—contribute to inclusion, community resilience, and new forms of urban citizenship in Mediterranean cities such as Istanbul, Athens, and Palermo. Through a comparative, interdisciplinary, and grounded approach, her work seeks to generate both theoretical insight and actionable frameworks for inclusive urban policy.
Thesis Working Title: Third Places and Migrants: A Comparative Study of Migrant Inclusion and Urban Governance in Mediterranean Cities.
Keywords: Urban Inclusion, Migration Governance, Third places, Collaborative Research Methodology, Mediterranean Cities.
Supervisor(s): Ahmet Içduygu, Koç University
Bledar Feta - University of Elbasan
Bledar Feta is a Research Fellow at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP), working in migration governance and policy analysis. He was engaged in the MIGREC project, which explored normative and institutional frameworks shaping state responses to migration, and has contributed extensively to Greece's national migration reports submitted to the OECD, monitoring trends and informing policy developments. In 2016, Feta worked with Solidarity Now, implementing refugee accommodation programs, gaining direct insight into the practical challenges of migration management during heightened flows across Europe. His work combines field experience, regional expertise, and academic rigor, making him a key voice in Mediterranean migration studies.
Thesis Working Title: “Crosscurrents: Exploring Migration Governance and System Interactions in the Mediterranean”
Keywords: Migration Governance, Migration Systems, Policy Integration
Supervisor: Eda Gemi, University of Elbasan
Demetra Santagati - Pompeu Fabra University
Demetra is a doctoral researcher in migration studies at Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona and a member of the EuroMedMig PhD Network. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Linguistic and Cultural Mediation, complemented by a Master’s degree in Political Science and International Cooperation, both awarded with honors. As a result of her interdisciplinary background, she values the integration of different perspectives as essential to producing comprehensive and original research. Her academic path, intertwined with her personal interests and professional experiences in international contexts, led her to focus on the intersection of migration governance and urban resilience in the Mediterranean region. Hence, her work is currently centered on the development of the Urban Resilience and Migration Governance Index (URMiG), a comparative tool designed to assess how Mediterranean cities respond to migratory pressures and adapt their governance structures under stress.
Thesis Working Title: Urban Resilience and Migration Governance Index: Assessing Cities’ Capacities across the Mediterranean
Keywords: migration, governance, cities, resilience, Mediterranean
Supervisors: Ricard Zapata-Barrero, Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Emilien Miner - Pompeu Fabra University
Emilien Miner is a doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences at Pompeu Fabra University and a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow within the EuroMedMig Doctoral Network. He holds an MA in Human Rights and Democratization from the Global Campus of Human Rights and an MA in Migration Studies from Pompeu Fabra University. He has five years of experience in Tunisia working on human rights, gender, civil society and migration issues, both with grassroot NGOs and with the European Union. His areas of expertise include European migration policies, international migration governance, civil society, and externalisation policies in North Africa. His current research examines the impact of the European Union’s externalisation policies on state structures, civil society, and migration dynamics in Tunisia and Egypt.
Thesis working title: “Civil Society and Migration Patterns: How the European Realpolitik of Border Externalization is changing the game. The case of Tunisia and Egypt”
Keywords: European Union; North Africa; Migration; Civil Society; Authoritarianism;
Supervisor: Lorenzo Gabrieli, Pompeu Fabra University
Ekaterina Reznikova - University of Sousse
Ekaterina is a researcher specializing in migration, labour market restructuring, and socio-spatial inequalities in the Mediterranean region. Currently engaged in a comparative study of Tunisia and Spain, her work focuses on the intersection of informality, rural-urban dynamics, and the lived experiences of migrant workers. Ekaterina adopts an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on critical labour theories and spatial justice to explore how global development agendas interact with local labour realities. Her research aligns closely with the United Nations 2030 Agenda, particularly in relation to decent work, reduced inequalities, and sustainable communities. With a strong background in Labour Policies and Globalization (MA awarded by Berlin School of Economics and Law), research experience on issues related to transformation of labour markets in different regions, and commitment to academic rigor and policy relevance, Ekaterina aims to contribute to more equitable and inclusive development models across diverse Mediterranean contexts.
Thesis Working Title: Labour market restructuring, migration, and informality at the rural-urban Interface: a comparative study of Tunisia and Spain in the Mediterranean context
Keywords: Migration, Informal Economy, Labour Market Restructuring, Rural-Urban Interface, Spatial Inequality
Supervisor: Hassen Boubakri, University of Sousse
Elettra Calò - University of Liège
Elettra is a doctoral researcher at the University of Liège, working within the EuroMedMig network on migration in the Euro-Mediterranean region. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Linguistic and Cultural Mediation and a Master’s degree in Development and International Cooperation, specialising in African studies and transnational mobility. Her fieldwork-based thesis on return and reintegration in Senegal analysed the role of diaspora and returning migrants in local development, showing how their financial and social contributions intersect with structural constraints and local governance dynamics. As a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow, her current doctoral project analyses how return preparedness shapes labour market reintegration and entrepreneurship among Moroccan returnees from Belgium, adopting a non-Eurocentric, holistic approach. She has experience in research support, project coordination, and advocacy with NGOs and human rights organisations, particularly on youth precariousness and social justice.
Thesis Working Title: “Return preparedness and labour market integration: how return preparedness shapes economic reintegration outcomes for Moroccan return migrants from Belgium”
Keywords: Migration, return, labour market, economic reintegration
Supervisor: Hassan Bousetta, University of Liège | Boutaina Idrissi, University Mohammed V - Rabat
Ibtissame Bourhnane - University of Liège
Ibtissame Bourhnane is an incoming Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions doctoral fellow pursuing a PhD in Social and Political Sciences at the University of Liège focusing on "Vulnerable Populations and Drivers of Migration". She recently completed her Master’s in Global Affairs at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, after earning a bachelor’s degree in International Studies with an African Studies minor from Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane. She has been engaged in topics related to migration since her senior capstone at Al Akhawayn University, where she studied the impact of migration policies in Morocco on maternal health among sub-Saharan migrant women. For her master’s thesis, she conducted an analysis of ten years of implementation of the National Strategy for Immigration and Asylum (SNIA) to better understand the diplomatic and domestic motivations behind its conception, and to further uncover the underlying causes of its stagnation since 2017/2018. Ibtissame has also worked as a Policy Council and Research Assistant for the ITHACA project, and as a Research Assistant at the International Development Research Centre Chair on Forced Displacement at UM6P. Ibtissame is research driven and believes in applied research that reflects field realities and lived experiences.
Thesis working title: “Informal Networks and Survival Strategies: Migration, Forced Immobility, and Subalternity in Transit Spaces”.
Keywords: Transit Spaces, Involuntary Immobility, Social Networks, Survival Strategies, Adaptation.
Supervisor: Hassan Bousetta, University of Liège
Lea Molina Caminero - University of Lisbon
Lea is a doctoral researcher in migration studies at the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning (IGOT), University of Lisbon, Portugal. Her research focuses on international lifestyle migration, local governance, placemaking and urban transformations. Previously, she worked as a research associate at the Free University of Berlin, at the Association of Housing and Urban Development (vhw), and the Leibniz Institute for Research on Society and Space in Erkner, Germany. She is a member of the working group on feminist geographies and contributed with her master's thesis as part of an Erasmus+ funded internship to the IMISCOE research initiative “Privileged Mobilities: Local Impacts, Belonging and Citizenship”. She completed her Master's degree in Social Geography with honours at the University of Osnabrück in 2020. Furthermore, she holds a Master of Education in Geography and Spanish.
Thesis working title: Privileged Migration in the Mediterranean: Reflections on Drivers and Taxonomies of Movement
Keywords: international lifestyle migration, mobility regimes, placemaking, privilege.
Supervisors: Prof Maria Lucinda Fonseca (IGOT/ULisboa), Prof Jennifer Mcgarrigle (IGOT/ULisboa).
Mahmoud Mansour - University Pompeu Fabra
Mahmoud Mansour is an Egyptian interdisciplinary economic/development researcher with diverse academic and professional experiences mostly covering macro-economic dynamics, public policy, labor migration and civil society activism in the MENA region (with an emphasis on Egypt and Lebanon as research sites). Mahmoud received his BA in Economics (minoring in Political Science) from the American University in Cairo. After two years of professional experience in Egypt’s public and private sectors, Mahmoud received a fully funded scholarship to pursue a MSc in International Development Studies at the University in Amsterdam (2023-2024). In partial fulfillment of the MSc, Mahmoud conducted a qualitative multi-methods research on feminist grassroots organization against the Kafala system in Lebanon (a system of bonded labor for migrant workers). This research critically engaged with the underlying political economy dynamics facilitating and protecting this extremely abusive and exploitative labor migration regime, looking at how structures of institutionalized racism and exclusion render migrant domestic workers in Lebanon as an extremely vulnerable and precarious demographic. In his current role as a research officer at the Center for Migration and Refugee Studies at the American University in Cairo, Mahmoud has been conducting field research with different refugee communities in Egypt, looking at their access to labor markets and livelihood opportunities, as well as the conditions and challenges related to such access. This research is being conducted as part of the EU-IOM funded Egypt Migration Hub Phase II project (EHUB).
Thesis Working Title: “The Economic Dimensions and Labor Outcomes of Egyptian Labor Migration to Italy”
Keywords: Labor Migration, Migration Governance, Dual/Segmented Labor Markets, Brain Waste, Egypt-Italy Migration Nexus
Supervisors: Professor Ibrahim Awad (The American University in Cairo) – Dr. Ricard Zapata Barrero (Pompeu Fabra University)
Ruth Rist - University of Harakopio
Ruth is a doctoral researcher at the Department of Geography at Harokopio University in Athens. Her research compares post-socialist migrants and refugee workers in rural Greece, applying her expertise in transnationality and post-socialist contexts. Her work bridges sociology and geography by critically mapping migrants lived experiences with attention to power relations and gender dynamics. Ruth’s strong foundation in sociological theory stems from her undergraduate studies of Sociology at Technische Universität Dresden, where she developed a regional focus on Eastern Europe, particularly the post-Yugoslav space. She further specialized in migration sociology during her master’s program of Eastern European Studies at Freie Universität Berlin, focusing on Yugoslav and post-socialist migration dynamics. Her master’s thesis examined the development of a German-Bosnian transnational heritage using a feminist approach. Her broader academic interests include gender studies and social inequality, particularly in relation to mobility and migration laws.
Thesis Working Title: Power Dynamics and Transnational Networks in Rural Greece: A Comparative Study of Migrant Cohorts
Keywords: Migration, Rurality, Transnationality, Post-Communism, Refugees.
Supervisors: Apostolos Papadopoulos, Harokopio University
Sana Gasmi - University of Catania
Sana Gasmi is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Candidate, hosted at the University of Catania, Italy. Sana holds an MA in Migration and Refugee Studies from the American University in Cairo. Her thesis titled “COVID-19 and Labor Shortage in France: Exploring the Contribution of Tunisian Migrant Workers in Bridging the Labor Shortage”, examined the contribution of Tunisian migrant workers to the French labor market during the pandemic. She also earned a BA in Political Science with a concentration in International Relations from the same institution in 2019. Sana has over four years of experience in Monitoring and Evaluation, Business Development, and Program Management.
Thesis working title: “The Role of Non-State Actors in Shaping Vulnerabilities within the European Tunisian Migration Governance System”
Keywords: Vulnerabilities, Migration Governance, Role of Non-State Actors, European Tunisian Migration System.
Supervisor: Stefania Panebianco, University of Catania
Viola de Franco - Université de la Cote d’Azur
Viola De Franco is a doctoral researcher in migration studies at Université Côte d’Azur, within the framework of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network (MSCA-DN). Her research focuses on digital migration imaginaries among North African youth, with particular attention to symbolic agency, platform aesthetics, and the transnational circulation of narratives across the Mediterranean. She holds a Master’s degree in Area and Global Studies for International Cooperation from the University of Turin and a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna. Viola brings an interdisciplinary academic background together with field-based experience in international cooperation, global education, and social services, having worked with NGOs, public institutions, and diplomatic offices in both Europe and Tanzania. Her academic trajectory, combined with applied work across European and East African contexts, informs a research approach grounded in critical migration studies, digital media theory, and postcolonial perspectives on youth and mobility in the Euro-Mediterranean region.
Thesis Working Title: Reframing the Mediterranean: Digital Migration Imaginaries Among the Moroccan Youth
Keywords: Migration imaginaries; Moroccan youth; digital media; TikTok; symbolic agency
Supervisors: Yvan Gastaut, URMIS _ MSHS sud-est (Université de la Cote d’Azur)