Anja van Heelsum is reseach Project Coordinator of the H2020 research consortium Advancing Alternative Migration Governance.
She is based at the Department of Political Science of the University of Amsterdam. She has been affiliated with the Institute of Migration and Ethnic Studies (IMES) since 1997 and is at present particularly fascinated by the interplay between migrants motives and migration policies. With a broad experience as a migration scholar, she worked on a variety of subject, including migrants aspirations, the refugee ‘crisis’, refugee reception, local policies on immigrants, ethnicity, political participation of immigrants, migrant organisations, and Islam. Regional specialisations are: the Mediterranean area (Spain, Greece, Turkey, Morocco) and Africa (Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia). She applies in a multidisciplinary approach to migration and ethnic studies, where insights from psychology, political science, sociology and anthropology meet.
She is member of the European Network for Immigration, Integration and Social Cohesion (IMISOCOE), involved in Metropolis International, which is largest international network of researchers, policy makers, and community groups engaged in identifying, understanding, and responding to developments in migration and diversity. Also, Van Heelsum is board member of the journal Ethnic and Racial Studies and coordinator of the Minor “Global Migration”, a bachelor program that provides students with fundamental understanding of processes, causes and impacts of migration.
She was a visiting researcher in Rabat (Morocco) and Ethiopia (University of Mek’ele and Addis Abeba).