I am a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Politics and International Studies at Loughborough University’s School of Social Sciences and Humanities. Prior to taking up my current position, I was a Marie Curie Research Fellow at Utrecht University’s School of Governance, and I also held a 3-year Assistant Professorship in the Department of Political Science at Aarhus University in affiliation with the UNIWEL (Universalism and the Welfare State) research project. My PhD (2014) is from McGill University’s Department of Political Science.

A professional of migration, I developed a specific expertise on the reintegration of migrants returning to their home country, managing, coordinating and contributing to harmonize transnational projects mainly in North and West Africa, but also beyond in other regions of Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Building on more than 10 years working for the International Organization for Migration, I gained experience in various fields of migration management, including in AVRR, capacity-building, fight against trafficking in human beings, irregular migration and displacement and migration crises.

Sophia Kianni is an 18 year old climate and environmental activist, specializing in media and strategy. Her passion for environmental advocacy began after she witnessed the devastating effect pollution was having on her parents’ home country, Iran. She is the founder and executive director of Climate Cardinals, an international nonprofit with over 6,500 volunteers in 40+ countries working to translate climate information into more than 100 languages. She represents the United States as the youngest member on the inaugural United Nations Secretary-General’s Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change. She is also the host of the New Fashion Initiative Podcast, interviewing everyone from sustainability leaders at Lush Cosmetics and Mara Hoffman to politicians like Tom Steyer. Sophia’s activism has been featured in news outlets including Forbes, CNN, The Guardian, CNBC, and even on the front page of The Washington Post. She was previously a fellow with PBS NewsHour and has written for news outlets such as MTV News, BuzzFeed, Teen Vogue, Refinery 29, and Cosmopolitan. Sophia has been publicly commended by the Congressional Committee on the Climate Crisis and the United Nations Foundation for her advocacy. She is an adamant public speaker and has spoken to people around the world from Doha, Qatar to Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Amelia joined the University of Surrey in January 2019 as Head of the Department of Politics, and Chair in European and International Affairs. In January 2021, she assumes the role of Dean International. Previously she worked as Director of the Centre for European Studies (CEFEUS), a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence at Canterbury Christ Church Uni (2013-2018), after positions in Brussels at the Vrije Universiteit Brussels and the Institute for European Studies, where she directed the Euromaster degree, as well as the Educational Development (EDU). Amelia is a long-standing Jean Monnet Chair in European Foreign Affairs, researching, teaching, consulting & postgrad supervising on EU foreign policy, EU-UK relations. Her areas of expertise include Common Security and Defence Policy, EU-Russia Energy Relations, EU Neighbourhood Policy, EU Development policy (with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa), EU relations with the US and Canada, Arctic & northern governance issues, and European energy governance. Additional areas of interest include foreign policy analysis, international and diplomatic history, the role of sovereignty in political history, International Relations theory, international political economy, public policy analysis, the Commonwealth and EU education policy. Amelia is regularly called upon as a guest speaker, external supervisor, research partner, consultant and media pundit on areas of EU foreign affairs, and of late, EU-UK relations.