Research team
Meet the team
Dr. Mark van Ostaijen
Principal Investigator
Dr. Mark van Ostaijen is as Associate Professor affiliated to the Department of Public Administration and Sociology (DPAS/ ESSB) at Erasmus University Rotterdam. He works as Managing Director of the LDE Centre Governance of Migration and Diversity.
In his previous research project at Tilburg University, he conducted etnographic fieldwork on how 'smart urban intermediaries' make a difference in neighborhoods of Amsterdam, Glasgow, Birmingham and Copenhagen. His PhD dissertation 'Worlds between words', was awarded as ‘Best PhD thesis’ by the Erasmus Graduate School. During his PhD research, he was one of the founders and chairman of the IMISCOE PhD network, an Organizing Committee Member of the Interpretive Policy Analysis (IPA) conference in Leicester (UK) and a visiting doctoral research fellow at De Montfort University (UK).
He published a Dutch book ‘Wij zijn ons. Een kleine sociologie van grote denkers’ (3th edition), is Committee Member of the Colloquium Critical and Interpretive Public Administration at the Netherlands Institute of Government (NIG), editor of Beleid & Maatschappij and columnist for De Volkskrant.
- Email:vanostaijen@essb.eur.nl
Manou Gomlich, MSc.
PhD Candidate
Manou Gomlich, MSc. is a PhD Candidate at the Department of Public Administration and Sociology (DPAS/ ESSB), Policy, Politics and Society at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
- Email:gomlich@essb.eur.nl
Anya Miller, MA.
PhD Candidate
Anya Miller is a PhD researcher on Project ICONIC with a background in community development and sociological research. In particular, her work lies at the crossroads of intersectionality, power, and cities.
Originally from the United States where she studied at the University of Pennsylvania, Anya spent the years prior to her PhD studying a Master's in Social Sciences at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain) as a Fulbright Scholar. Her Master's thesis implemented a community-centered, qualitative approach to investigating resistance strategies in response to gentrification pressures in the superdiverse neighborhood of Lavapiés, Madrid—with implications for the ongoing reimagining of more inclusive cities.
Ilhan Kellecioglu, Msc.
PhD Candidate
Ilhan Kellecioglu is a PhD researcher on Project ICONIC. His research lies at the intersection of housing studies, urban justice, and street-level decision-making in superdiverse neighbourhoods.
Prior to his PhD, he worked as a researcher assistant at the Institute for Housing and Urban Research, Uppsala University, contributing to several projects on housing financialisation, social sustainability, and participatory evaluation. His work is grounded in qualitative, ethnographic, and participatory action research approaches, and he has published in international peer-reviewed journals including Antipode and Critical Sociology.
Dr. Mark van Ostaijen
Principal Investigator
Dr. Mark van Ostaijen is as Associate Professor affiliated to the Department of Public Administration and Sociology (DPAS/ ESSB) at Erasmus University Rotterdam. He works as Managing Director of the LDE Centre Governance of Migration and Diversity.
In his previous research project at Tilburg University, he conducted etnographic fieldwork on how 'smart urban intermediaries' make a difference in neighborhoods of Amsterdam, Glasgow, Birmingham and Copenhagen. His PhD dissertation 'Worlds between words', was awarded as ‘Best PhD thesis’ by the Erasmus Graduate School. During his PhD research, he was one of the founders and chairman of the IMISCOE PhD network, an Organizing Committee Member of the Interpretive Policy Analysis (IPA) conference in Leicester (UK) and a visiting doctoral research fellow at De Montfort University (UK).
He published a Dutch book ‘Wij zijn ons. Een kleine sociologie van grote denkers’ (3th edition), is Committee Member of the Colloquium Critical and Interpretive Public Administration at the Netherlands Institute of Government (NIG), editor of Beleid & Maatschappij and columnist for De Volkskrant.
- Email:vanostaijen@essb.eur.nl
Manou Gomlich, MSc.
PhD Candidate
Manou Gomlich, MSc. is a PhD Candidate at the Department of Public Administration and Sociology (DPAS/ ESSB), Policy, Politics and Society at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
- Email:gomlich@essb.eur.nl
Anya Miller, MA.
PhD Candidate
Anya Miller is a PhD researcher on Project ICONIC with a background in community development and sociological research. In particular, her work lies at the crossroads of intersectionality, power, and cities.
Originally from the United States where she studied at the University of Pennsylvania, Anya spent the years prior to her PhD studying a Master's in Social Sciences at Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain) as a Fulbright Scholar. Her Master's thesis implemented a community-centered, qualitative approach to investigating resistance strategies in response to gentrification pressures in the superdiverse neighborhood of Lavapiés, Madrid—with implications for the ongoing reimagining of more inclusive cities.
Ilhan Kellecioglu, MSc.
PhD Candidate
Ilhan Kellecioglu is a PhD researcher on Project ICONIC. His research lies at the intersection of housing studies, urban justice, and street-level decision-making in superdiverse neighbourhoods.
Prior to his PhD, he worked as a researcher assistant at the Institute for Housing and Urban Research, Uppsala University, contributing to several projects on housing financialisation, social sustainability, and participatory evaluation. His work is grounded in qualitative, ethnographic, and participatory action research approaches, and he has published in international peer-reviewed journals including Antipode and Critical Sociology.
"Diversity is a pressing societal issue. And dealing with diversity presents challenges in practice. Project ICONIC offers a unique opportunity to study how diversity 'works' in an insightful and comparative way. This will allow us to truly make a difference, both locally and internationally."
Dr. Mark van Ostaijen
Principal Investigator
"Diversity is a pressing societal issue. And dealing with diversity presents challenges in practice. Project ICONIC offers a unique opportunity to study how diversity 'works' in an insightful and comparative way. This will allow us to truly make a difference, both locally and internationally."
Dr. Mark van Ostaijen
Principal Investigator
A research project by Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences
Project ICONIC is embedded in the Team Policy, Politics and Society (PPS) of the Department of Public Administration and Sociology at the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences at Erasmus University Rotterdam (Netherlands).
Project ICONIC also connects to a wider inter-disciplinary network of migration scholars via the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Centre Governance of Migration and Diversity (LDE GMD).