I recently completed a Masters in International Public Policy degree from the Balsillie School of International Affairs. I also bring an economics background to the study of refugee policy, having earned a Masters in Economics from New York University as a Fulbright scholar.
Among my current research interests is exploring forced mobility from a cross-disciplinary lens. I am interested in the relationship between refugee resettlement policies and 'resettlement outcomes' or 'success' of refugees. Cause-and-effect studies often belong to the quantitative realm, but what resettlement success means from different points of view can be more of a qualitative question.
The summer school helped me further envision the interdisciplinary potential of studying refugee resettlement. It brought together a wide array of methods and perspectives, instead of being confined by the borders of any one academic discipline. The range of guest speakers was fantastic, and all of them were engaging and approachable, as were the professors who organized the course.
One of the highlights of the summer school was a series of visits to community organizations and other local entities in Montreal that engaged in refugee resettlement - it really helped the academic part of the course take on a practical relevance.