Ilka Vari-Lavoisier Oxford

Dr Ilka Vari-Lavoisier holds a BA in Political Science (Science Po, Aix-en-Provence), a joint master’s degree in Social Sciences (ENS/EHESS, Paris), and a PhD in Sociology from the École Normale Supérieure de Paris. As a Procter Fellow at Princeton University (2013 – 2015) and a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania (2015 – 2017), Ilka further developed her expertise on mobility (visit her website for more information). She joined COMPAS, at the University of Oxford, in 2018.

Ilka is currently the principal researcher on the PLAN project, led by Virginie Guiraudon (CEE) at Sciences Po (France), in collaboration with Jacqueline Broadhead (GEM/COMPAS) at Oxford (UK). She is also a fellow of the IC Migrations and a research associate at the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (DIAL research centre), in Paris.

At Oxford, Ilka is affiliated with the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography (SAME) and the Sociology Department. As a SAME affiliate, she develops innovative research methods, based on digital tools. She runs a video training workshop series, in collaboration with Dr Will Allen, and co-organises events for the Migration and Mobility Network. Since 2020, Ilka also provides lectures on research methods for the Department for Continuing Education. Her teaching is based on her extensive experience in transnational research design, developed through her participation in multi-method and multi-sited projects across four continents (Africa, North America, Asia, Europe).