Education

• 2014: Unternehmensgründung und –führung, venturelab.ch, ETH and University of Zurich
• 2012: Habilitation and Venia Legendi, University of Zurich, Switzerland
• 2005: PhD in Human Geography, University of Zurich, Switzerland
• 2000: M. Sc. in Human Geography, Sociology and Political Science, University of Potsdam, Germany (incl. Erasmus Semester University of Plymouth, UK)

 Appointments

• From 2015 Professorship, Freie Universität Berlin, Anthropogeography, Working Group Globalisation, Transformation, Gender
• 2008 – 2014 Research group leader ‘Im/mobilities and Migration’ and senior lecturer, Geography, University of Zurich, Switzerland
• 2005 – 2008 Post-doc, Humangeography, University of Zurich
  • 2001 – 2005 Research and teaching assistant in Human Geography, University of Zurich
  • 2003 Consultant for International Labour Office (ILO) Geneva (part-time)
• 2000 - 2001 German Development Cooperation (GIZ) Germany and Bangladesh
• 1999 Penang Heritage Trust, Penang, Malaysia (ASA Scholarship Carl Duisberg Society)

Visiting Fellowships

• 2011 American University Central Asia (AUCA) | Bishkek | Kyrgyzstan
• 2010 Institute of Social Studies (ISS) | De Hague | NL
• 2006/07 University of Sussex Centre for Migration Research | UK

Areas of specialisation

• im/mobility, migration, labour, education 
• development, transformation
• social differences, inequality
• social theory
• Specific country experience: Nepal, India, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Switzerland

Science@Practice : Implementation, Policy Dialogue, Consultancy

• 2011-2014: Policy advice for Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) & HELVETAS
• 2008: Documentary "the other silk road" (with Panos South Asia) download here:
• 2003-05: Empowerment of Nepali labour migrants in India (with South Asia Study Center, Delhi)
• 2003: Consultancy for International Labour Organisation (ILO), Geneva, Switzerland

Memberships

• Arbeitskreis "Geographische Migrationsforschung", http://www.geographische-migrationsforschung.de/

• Geographic Ethnographic Society Zurich, http://www.geo.uzh.ch/microsite/gegz/neu/gegz/ueberuns.html
• Voluntary collaborator and board member of Brandenburg Institute for Development Policy, Potsdam, Germany (1998-2001)

• Swiss research network "Passagen" - Crossings: Researching the Intersections of Migration and Gender, http://www.passagen.ch (Vice-president until 2014)
• Executive Committee of the Commision for Research Partnerships with Developing Countries KFPE (2010-2014) http://www.kfpe.ch

Current research projects

• Since 2013: Unemployment as crisis – youth in crisis? Insights from recent labour migration from southern Europe to Switzerland” (with Sara Landolt, University of Zurich) http://www.research-projects.uzh.ch/p18676.htm
• Since 2014: Internationalisation of Higher Education: Educational Consultants in Nepal. (self-financed)
• 2013-2014: Alumni Study: Tracking former scholars from developing and transition countries at ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich” (with Emma Lindberg ETH Zurich), http://www.research-projects.uzh.ch/p18606.htm

Completed research projects

• 2012-2014: Integrated Analyses of Human Dimensions and Policy Implications of Cross-Border Migration on Vector-Borne Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in the Andes-Amazon Region“ with Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (TPH) Basel, http://www.snis.ch/project_integrated-analyses-human-dimensions-and-policy-implications-cross-border-migration-vector

• 2010-2014: Migration, knowledge and development: the role of knowledge and skills in the migration process in South & Central Asia Homepage: http://www.north-south.unibe.ch/content.php/page/id/278

• 2010-2012: Analysis, Visualization and contextualisation of quantitative migration data of different scale. with giCentre, City University London; Geocomputation, University of Zurich, http://www.research-projects.uzh.ch/p16106.htm

• 2011-2012:Mobility and migration: confusing terms, varying regional relevance, conflicting policies? Homepage: http://www.north-south.unibe.ch/content.php/page/id/321

• 2007-2008: “the other silk road”, documentary, Panos South Asia and NCCR North-South  
• 2006-2010: Sustaining livelihoods in multi-local settings in South and Central Asia. With Panos South Asia. http://www.research-projects.uzh.ch/p7542.htm

• 2003-2005: Two projects addressing migrant’s needs in Delhi, India in collaboration with the NGO South Asia Study Center (SASC), SNSF&SDC, NCCR North-South

Social Networks and Migration: Nepal – India labour migration (2001-205), http://www.lit-verlag.de/isbn/3-8258-9246-8

Main Supervisor of PhD research:

Ongoing at the University of Zurich

Samuel Graf (since 2012): Transnationally tied: Social, economic and political linkages of the Eritrean diaspora in Switzerland and how they can influence change in their home country, University of Zurich. http://www.geo.uzh.ch/de/lehrstuehle-und-abteilungen/humangeographie/ueber-uns/staff/samuel-graf

Pörtner, Ephraim (since 2011): Encountering asylum-seekers: Politics of mobility at the margins of the State. University of Zurich. Homepage: http://www.geo.uzh.ch/de/lehrstuehle-und-abteilungen/humangeographie/ueber-uns/staff/ephraim-poertner

Finalised

Hatcher, Craig (2010 - 2014): Law, Space and the City: A legal geography of urban change in post-socialist Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. University of Zurich.

Samanchina, Jarkyn (2010-2014): The influence of educational migration on the development of inter-state relations between Kyrgyzstan and Turkey. Bishkek Humanitarian University, Kyrgyzstan. (In collaboration with Prof. A. Elebaeva, Academy of Science, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan)

Publications

Journal articles

(If you are interested in an article and do not have access to the journal, please feel free to contact me)

• Hatcher, C. and Thieme, S. 'Institutional transition: Internal migration, the propiska, and post-socialist urban change in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan‘. Urban Studies. Online First. http://usj.sagepub.com/content/early/recent
• Thieme, S.(2014): Multilokales Erwerbs- und Familienleben im postsozialistischen Kirgistan. Geographische Rundschau 64 (11): 40-45. 

• Thieme, S. (2014): An International Degree, Social Ties and Return: When International Graduates Make a Career Back Home in Kyrgyzstan. Internationales Asienforum. Vol. 45: 113–128.  
• Thieme, S. (2014): Coming Home? Patterns and Characteristics of Return Migration in Kyrgyzstan. In: International Migration 52(5): 127-143.
• Thieme, Susan & Ghimire, Anita (2014): Making Migrants Visible in Post-MDG Debates. Sustainability, 6, 399-415. open access: http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/6/1/399
• Rogaly, Ben and Thieme, Susan (2012): Experiencing space-time: the stretched lifeworlds of migrant workers in India. Environment and Planning A: 44: 2086-2100. http://www.envplan.com/abstract.cgi?id=a44493
• Thieme, S. (2012): "Action": Publishing Research Results in Film [46 paragraphs]. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 13(1), Art. 31, http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1201316
• Siegmann, K. and Thieme, S. (2010): Coping on Women’s Back: Social Capital-Vulnerability Links through a Gender Lens. Current Sociology 58(5): 719-737.
• Schoch, N.; Steimann, S. & Thieme, S. (2010): Migration and Animal Husbandry - Competing or Complementary Livelihood Strategies: Evidence from Kyrgyzstan. Natural Resources Forum, 34: 211-221.
• Thieme, Susan & Müller-Böker, Ulrike (2010): Social Networks and Migration: Women’s Livelihoods Between Far West Nepal and Delhi. European Bulletin of Himalayan Research, 35/36, 2009/2010: 107-122.
• Thieme, S. (2009): Wohin ist zurück? Unterschiedliche Vorstellungen von Rückkehrmigration und möglichen Folgen for die ländliche Entwicklung in Kirgistan. Comparative Population Studies/Zeitschrift für Bevölkerungswissenschaft 34(3-4): 253-274.
• Thieme, S. (2008): Sustaining Livelihoods in Multilocal Settings: Possible Theoretical Linkages between Livelihoods and Transnational Migration Research. Mobilities 3 (1): 51-71.
• Thieme, S. (2008): Living in Transition: How Kyrgyz Women Juggle their Different Roles in a Multi-local Setting. Gender, Technology and Development. 12(3), 325-345.
• Barbora, S., Thieme, S., Siegmann, K.A., Menon, V. and Gurung, G. (2008): Migration Matters in South Asia: Commonalities and Critiques. Economic and Politically Weekly. June 14: 57-65.
• Herzig, P. and S. Thieme (2007): How Geography Matters: Neglected Dimensions in Contemporary Migration Research. Asiatische Studien/Etudes Asiatique Suisse LXI (4): 1077-1112.
• Thieme, S., M. Kollmair and U. Müller-Böker (2006): Transnationale soziale Netzwerke und Migration: Nepalis aus Far West Nepal in Delhi. Geographische Rundschau 58(10): 24-32.
• Kollmair, M., S. Manandhar, B. Subedi and S. Thieme (2006):  New Figures for Old Stories: Migration and Remittances in Nepal. Migration Letters 3/2, October: 151-160.
• Thieme, S., and S. Wyss (2005): Migration Patterns and Remittance Transfer: A Case Study of Sainik Basti in Western Nepal. International Migration, 43 (5): 59-98.
• Thieme, S., R. Bhattrai, G. Gurung, M. Kollmair, S. Manandhar and U. Müller-Böker (2005): Adressing Nepalese Migrant Workers' Needs. Mountain Research and Development, 25 (2): 109-114.
• Thieme, S. and Müller-Böker U. (2004): Financial Self-Help Associations among Far West Nepalese Labor Migrants in Delhi, India. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal 13 (3): 339-361.

 

Monographs

• Thieme, S. (2010): Sustaining livelihoods in multi-local settings: A theoretical, methodological and empirical perspective. Habilitationsschrift. Unpublished.
• Adhikari, J.; Arnoy, J.; Ghimire, A., Gurung, G.; Thieme, S.; Upreti, R. (editors) (2012): Nepal Migration Yearbook 2011. NIDS and NCCR North-South. Kathmandu.
• Ghimire, A.; Adhikari, J.; Gurung, G.; Raj Upreti, B.; Rajbanshi, A.; Thieme, S. (editors) (2011): Nepal Migration Yearbook 2010. NIDS and NCCR North-South. Kathmandu.
• Thieme, S. (2006): Social Networks and Migration: Far West Nepalese Labour Migrants in Delhi, Series: Culture, Society and Environment, 7, LIT Publishing House, Münster, ISBN 3-8258-9246.

Film

• the other silk road (2008), 28 min
• Documentary labour migration in Kyrgyzstan. National Centre of Competence in Research North-South and Panos South Asia production. Research: Susan Thieme, Script: Susan Thieme and Xonzoi Barbora. Film: Kazu Ahmed, Ushma Bardoloi, Sushmita Kashyap. 
• Downloadhere: http://www.north-south.unibe.ch/content.php/page/id/243

Working Papers and Reports

• Lindberg, Emma & Parijat Chakrabarti & Susan Thieme (2014): Brain drain or brain circulation? Career paths of international students: Swiss scholarships for international students at ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich. Report. ETH Global, ETHZ and UZH. Zurich. Switzerland.
• 2003: Savings and Credit Associations and Remittances: The Case of Far West Nepalese Labour Migrants in Delhi, India; ILO Working Paper No. 39, Social Finance Programme, ILO (International Labour Organisation), Geneva.

Policy Briefings

• Thieme, S.; Bhattarai, A. and Gurung, G. (2014): Making Migration Safer. Research Evidence for Policy. NCCR North-South, Berne.
• Thieme, S.; Elebaeva, A.; Bruce Z.; Samanchina, J. (2013): Studying Abroad: Encouraging Students to Return to Kyrgyzstan. Evidence for Policy No. 5, NCCR North-South: Kyrgyzstan.
• Thieme, S. (2009): Where to return to? Rural Urban Interlinkages in Times of Internal and International Migration. In: Social Research Center, American University Central Asia (AUCA) (Ed.): Policy Briefs on Civil Society. Migration, Islam, and Corruption. AUCA, Bishkek: 108-113.

Book sections

• Geiser, U.; Müller-Böker, U.; Shabaz, B.; Steimann, B. & Thieme, S. (2011): Towards an Analytical LIvelihoods Perspective in Critical Development Research. In: Hurni, H. & Wiesmann, U. (eds.), Global Change and Sustainable Development: A Synthesis of NCCR North-South Research. Perspectives of the Swiss National Centre of Competence of Research (NCCR) North-South, University of Berne, Vol. 6, Berne: Switzerland: Geographica Bernensia: 257-271. 
• Bichsel, C., Fokou, G., Ibraimova, A., Kasymov, U., Steimann, B., Thieme, S. (2010): Natural Resource Institutions in Transformation: The Tragedy and Glory of the Private. In: Hurni, H. & Wiesmann, U. (eds.), Global Change and Sustainable Development: A Synthesis of Regional Experiences from Research Partnerhsips. Perspectives of the Swiss National Centre of Competence of Research (NCCR) North-South, University of Berne, Vol. 5, Berne: Switzerland: Geographica Bernensia: 255-269.
• Barbora, S., Thieme, S., Siegmann, K. (2010): Patterns and Politics of Migration in South Asia. In: Hurni, H. & Wiesmann, U. (eds.), Global Change and Sustainable Development: A Synthesis of Regional Experiences from Research Partnerhsips. Perspectives of the Swiss National Centre of Competence of Research (NCCR) North-South, University of Berne, Vol. 5, Berne: Switzerland: Geographica Bernensia: 313-328.
• Thieme, S. (2009): Dubai Chalo!: Wer baut Dubai?. In: Blum, E. und Neitzke, P. Dubai: Stadt aus dem Nichts. Reihe Bauwelt Fundamente. Birkhäuser. Boston, Berlin, Basel: 188-203.
• Thieme, S. and Müller-Böker U. (2006): Financial Self-Help Associations among Far West Nepalese Labor Migrants in Delhi, India. Asian and Pacific Migration Journal 13 (3), pp. 339-361. Reprinted in: Krishna, S. (Ed.): Self-Help Groups in the Context of Micro Finance. Hyderabad, Icfai University Press: 126-149.

Newspaper

• Steimann, B., Thieme, S. (2010): Wir gehen nicht zurück: Bishkeks Vororte als Spiegel gesellschaftlicher Umbrüche in Kirgistan. Neue Zürcher Zeitung. 14.5.2010: 9.

BLOG, Newsletter

• Landolt, S. and Thieme, S. (2014): Feministische Geo-Rundmail.
• Thieme, S. (2013, May): Bans Will Not Stop Women from Migrating. Central Eurasian Scholar Media Initiative (CESMI), http://cesmi.info/wp/?m=201305, “my take on …”.
• Thieme, S. (2013): Banning Women from Migrating. Geographies of Care. Feministische Geo-Rundmail. No. 56.