University of Siegen

The University of Siegen (UoS) is an expanding and innovative university, with a focus on interdisciplinarity as a core paradigm of the knowledge triangle of research, education and transfer activities. It is situated in the region of South Westphalia, closely interconnected with the federal state North Rhine Westphalia and has an extensive national as well as international collaboration network. Partner until 31 July 2022.

_______________________________________________________

Sabine Meier is Professor ´Spatial Development and Social Inclusion´ at the University of Siegen. Before she was Professor of Demographic Change and Built Environment at the Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen (NL). She completed her PhD degree in Urban Geography at the University of Amsterdam; her Master degrees in Sociology at the University of Amsterdam and Architecture at the RWTH Aachen. Before trained as an urban geographer/sociologist, Meier worked in several architectural and urban planning offices and a Dutch housing corporation. Her main areas of research include migration and urban planning (mid-sized cities), uneven development of cities and regions, inclusive public spaces and theory of social distinction, place-making and multiscalar approaches. Email: sabine.meier@hs-rm.de.

Laura Foelske is the PhD researcher in the Welcoming Spaces project and is based at the interdisciplinary scientific unit “Center for Planning and Evaluation of Social Services” of the University of Siegen, Germany. As a Social Worker and Sociologist, she has researched and worked in the areas of social services, welfare, migration, municipality and social inclusion. With a Bachelor in Social Work, Master in Action Research in Social Work and Master in Sociology (ongoing) she is interested in organizations; social and migration laws and policies; welfare state and benefits; local social services and social space orientation. For her Master thesis, she researched how social workers work with migration and social laws, in order to support and find suitable education for young refugees. Before starting her PhD, she worked as a Social Worker in Social Services for Refugees, Youth and Child protection. Email: Laura.Foelske@uni-siegen.de.

José Ricardo Martins is the post-doctoral fellow at the University of Siegen taking part in the EU Welcoming Spaces project. He has a PhD in Sociology (track: State & Citizenship with an emphasis in Public Policy), Master´s degree in Sociology (track: Institutions & Power with an emphasis in International Relations), both received from the Federal University of Paraná in Curitiba, Brazil. He has also earned specialisation certificates in International trade & negotiations, Geopolitics & International relations, and Public policies & higher education evaluation. Research interests are concentrated in the areas of public policy and governance, migration, social policies, network governance, urban and regional planning and development, regional economic transition and innovative economy, public administration, and international relations and regional integration.

From July 2022, José Ricardo Martins has become the post-doctoral fellow Email: j.r.martins@uu.nl.