Project Members of the Subproject 2
Simon Becker
Simon Becker is a master student at the University of Cologne, where he studies economic geography. During his studies, he has placed an increasing focus on the development of the global south. At the CIF he supports Subproject 2 and does research on the labor market integration of refugees and migrants in Thailand.
Javier Diez
Javier Revilla Diez is full professor of Human Geography Chair and Head of the Working Group “Economic Geography and Global South” at the Institute of Geography at the University of Cologne, Germany. He was appointed within the framework of the key profile area “Socio-economic, Cultural, and Political Transformations in the Global South” of the Global South Studies Center at the University of Cologne, supported by the German Excellence Initiative. His research has focused on knowledge-based regional development (especially regional innovation systems) and vulnerability research in Europe and Asia. Recently he worked on regional growth in the Greater Pearl River Delta (China), on economic restructuring and responses to crisis in rural Vietnam/Thailand, and Tsunami risks, vulnerability and resilience in the Phang-Nga Province, Thailand.
Bhanubhatra "Kaan" Jittiang
Dr. Bhanubhatra Jittiang is an Assistant Dean for International Affairs, a lecturer in the Department of International Relations, and the current Director of the M.A. and Ph.D. Program in International Development Studies (MAIDS-GRID) at Chulalongkorn University. His research and teaching interests encompass forced migration and refugees, humanitarianism, atrocities prevention, international development, international conflicts, and securitization. Dr. Jittiang completed a B.A. (First-class Honor) in Political Science (International Relations) from Chulalongkorn University, an M.A. in International Development Studies from the Elliott School of International Affairs, the George Washington University, USA, and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, USA.
Panitda Saiyarod
Panitda Saiyarod is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Cologne, Germany. Her research focuses on changes in social relationships in a Mekong border town, as influenced by Chinese infrastructure projects. Her current thesis, "The Clash of Connectedness: Local responses to China's transnational infrastructure projects in a border town, Thailand," investigates the ways in which communities in Thailand are responding to the presence of these projects and their potential future impacts.
In addition to her doctoral studies, Panitda has been working as a lecturer at Chiang Mai University since 2015. Prior to that, she worked as a plan and policy analyst in the office of the National Economic and Social Development Board Thailand (NESDB) from 2012-2015. Her previous research projects offer a glimpse into her diverse research experiences, including "Imagining the future of incoming China-Thai railway: the study of land use planning nearby the Nhong Khai railway station from the local and government's perspective," "Shifting Agricultural Plantation, Chinese Influence, and Its Impacts to Agriculture Security in Northern Thailand" and Impacts of the “Belt and Road Initiative” on Cross-border Logistics Business between Thailand and China: Case Study of Chinese Entrepreneurs in Chiang Rai Province.
Panitda holds an MSc in Development Anthropology with Merit from Durham University, UK, and a BA in Sociology from Fudan University, China.
Madita Teusen
Madita Teusen is a student of Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Cologne. After an exchange semester in Thai Studies at Thammasat University in Bangkok, she is now planning to write her BA thesis in connection with subproject 2 of the research cluster. She holds a scholarship of the Evangelisches Studienwerk Villigst e.V. and has previously volunteered with an NGO supporting urban refugees in Bangkok and refugees along the Thai-Myanmar border.
Naruemon Thabchumpon
Naruemon Thabchumpon is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Political Science, Director of the Master of Art in International Development Studies(MAIDS), and Director of the Asian Research Center for Migration, Chulalongkorn University. Her expertise is on comparative politics and democracy, cross-border migration, and human development. She received her MA and PhD from the School of Politics and International Studies of University of Leeds, United Kingdom. Her research interests include comparative politics, cross-border migration, politics of human rights, human development and human security, participatory democracy and sustainable development
Su Myat Thwe
Su Myat Thwe holds LL.B. (YUDE, Myanmar), BBA (PGSM-ESG, France) and CIMA Cert. BA (UK), and is currently studying MA in International Development Studies at Chulalongkorn University. Having finished the pupillage in chamber and with professional experiences in public relations, corporate social responsibility and asylum aids, her research interest is in the field of rights-based development focusing on intersectionality of identities, state protection and marginalization.
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