Profile

I hold a PhD in human geography and have been employed as Associate Professor at the Danish School of Education (DPU), Aarhus University, since 2008. From 2014 to 2021, I also served as DPU’s International Advisor.

At DPU, my primary research interest lies within the field of educational geography, understood as the spatial dimensions of education, particularly in relation to higher education. I am especially interested in how internationalisation and international educational collaboration shape the world in new ways while also reproducing existing dependencies. This has been a central focus in my role as PI of the project Geographies of Internationalisation (2019-2024).

More broadly, I am concerned with the role of universities in society, how this role has evolved over time and across contexts, and how educational institutions contribute to the shaping of places.

Prior to joining DPU, my main research area was rural studies. Through fieldwork among nomads in Senegal and settlers in Egypt, I developed methodological approaches to studying everyday life in rural areas and understanding local dynamics within a global framework, with particular attention to sustainability and social justice.

These two strands of research converge in my current project Higher Education Institutions as Drivers of Rural and Regional Development (2025-2026).

Over the past 25 years, I have pursued a range of research interests, but recurring themes include geographical inequality at various scales, physical and social mobility, mobility of people, animals, and ideas, and the concept of place, how people create and are shaped by places, and how we build a sense of belonging or experience its absence. Another consistent theme, stemming from my interest in mobility and place, is scientific methodology. My work spans from using GPS to study mobility to employing timelines to explore life histories and senses of belonging.

Geographically, my research has focused on Africa, the Middle East, and Denmark, with extensive fieldwork conducted in Senegal and Egypt.

I primarily teach and supervise within the Educational Anthropology programme and have for several years been a key contributor to the master’s programme Anthropology of Education and Globalisation, which is currently on hold. I have also taught in two professional master’s programmes: LAICS (Leadership and Innovation in Complex Systems) and MLU (Leadership of Educational Institutions).

Previously, I held a position as Senior Researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS). Concurrently, I served as an external lecturer at Copenhagen Business School (CBS) and worked as a consultant for the publishing house Gyldendal. As head of the research area Youth and a member of DIIS’ Executive Board, I gained leadership experience and insight into strategic development and institutional visioning. In addition, I am trained in facilitation and have previously worked as a management consultant at Implement A/S.