Dr Mary Rose Sarausad

Q1. Who are you?

I’m Mary Rose Geraldine A. Sarausad, a lecturer and coordinator of the LC Research Support Program at the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand. I obtained my Ph.D. in Demography from the Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University, Thailand and my MBA and MSc. from the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand. As a highly skilled professional I have proven experience in research and postgraduate teaching for more than 10 years. My main research interests are international labour migration, forced displacement, population movements, and gender and development.

Q2. What was your motivation to apply for the FFVT fellowship? Why Germany?

My main motivation in applying for the FFVT fellowship is the research strengths and activities of the partner institutions in the project.  The diversity of the publications on various issues related to forced displacement is inspiring since it illustrates how they placed migration and refugee issues in their priority agenda. Moreover, IMIS, where I am currently based, provides the appropriate research space for me to achieve my research objectives while in Osnabruck as its themes and focus areas are very relevant to my proposed project.  FFVT’s partner institutions also create avenues for researchers like me to connect with other researchers, and collaborate with state and non-state institutions; thus, allowing me to be better engaged as a researcher and collaborator. 

Q3. What do you expect from the fellowship?

The expertise and mentoring of FFVT in general, and IMIS in particular, will expand my knowledge on refugee integration policies and measures in Europe and other regions, and provide me the necessary tools and innovative ways to apply different approaches in studying marginalized or vulnerable groups such as refugees and asylum seekers. This will also enable me to adequately capture different aspects of this phenomenon and help me propose durable solutions for Thailand as it is still in the early stage of the National Screening Mechanism (NSM). At the same time, I will be able to access FFVT’s exhaustive repository of studies conducted on various topics. Holding an FFVT fellowship will also enable me to advance in the academia as I will have better opportunities to collaborate with other researchers and experts outside of Thailand.

Q4. What is the focus of your work, and what is innovative about it? / What are your planned outcomes and activities for the fellowship period? And how do they relate to your FFVT hosting institution/ the FFVT cooperation project?

The research that I proposed to conduct during the fellowship period focuses on identifying effective policies that can be used to recommend for the expansion of the recently established National Screening Mechanism (NSM) in Thailand. Major deficiencies in the NSM were found by several researchers and advocacy groups, so the project will address the gap by expanding the debate regarding Thailand’s approach towards refugees in the country against the backdrop of the 1979 Immigration Act and the 2019 National Screening Mechanism (NSM). I plan to identify EU refugee policies that are applicable in expanding the legal framework of the NSM to provide an effective and fair refugee policy in Thailand. Lastly, alternative pathways will also be identified that can be incorporated in the design of refugee programs to address pervading refugee issues in non-signatory countries like Thailand.

My research project relates well with one or two research focus areas of my host institution, IMIS, particularly on Flight and those seeking protection, which investigates forced migration and its forms, conditions, and consequences.