Hanne BEIRENS

Course offered: Managing Migration in Europe: Taking Stock of the Legal Tools, best Practices and practical Challenges in the Field of Migration and Asylum

Dr. Hanne Beirens is former Director of the Migration Policy Institute Europe, where she is a go-to-resource for those developing, implementing and evaluating European Union policies on asylum and migration. She is an expert in moderating closed-door meetings where policymakers, civil society actors, UN organisations and researchers have open and frank discussions on migration-related challenges and smart solutions. She has an international media presence and is regularly invited to deliver keynote speeches peering into the future.

 The passion she brings to her work and her warm and empathic demeanour has allowed her to connect and work with the field, fostering joined up thinking and action over the past 20 years.

 Prior to joining MPI Europe, Dr. Beirens worked as a Lead Managing Consultant for ICF Consulting, where she managed large-scale, transnational projects for European Commission and other EU institutions. Earlier, Dr. Beirens was a researcher in UK academia, spending several years at the universities of Oxford, Warwick and Birmingham. She also has worked for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and as an independent consultant for the International Labor Organization and the Quaker United Nations Office.

 She holds a master's degree in race and ethnic relations and a PhD in the participation of children and youth in armed conflict, both from the University of Warwick (UK).