Alin Croitoru – Principal Investigator
Alin Croitoru is interested in the study of migration from multiple perspectives, including the research of intentions and motivations for migration, employment, and entrepreneurship, as well as the effects of migration on individual migrants, families, communities, and countries of origin. Since 2013, he has held a Ph.D. in Sociology and is currently an Associate Professor at Lucian Blaga University in Sibiu, Romania. He has contributed to the implementation of several international projects under the Horizon Europe framework and has published in international pee-reviewed journals and authored several books. More details about his professional activity can be found at this link.
Researchers
Mara Birou is engaged in the study of migration from different perspectives, including integration, welfare policies, social behaviour, and trust. As a PhD candidate in Sociology at Babeș-Bolyai University and an assistant professor at Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, she is actively involved in several research projects, particularly those employing qualitative methodologies. With extensive experience in field research, she has conducted interviews with vulnerable groups, government authorities, and representatives of NGOs in Romania.
Giorgian Guțoiu studies migration with a focus on its demographic, economic and political causes and consequences. He has a PhD in Political Science from the University of Bucharest (2019) and is currently a Teaching Assistant at the Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu where he teaches seminars on sociology and social work. He has published mainly on topics such as urban political economy, migration and demography. In the past (2020-2022) he has worked for the Romanian Center for the Study of Migration and Social Inclusion in a project that researched the integration of immigrants in the Romanian society.
Mihai S. Rusu is a sociologist interested in understanding the intersections between migration and identity, memory, and place-making. He holds a PhD in Sociology from Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, and he is currently Associate Professor in Sociology at Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania. He authored five books (three as single author) and numerous peer-reviewed academic articles in journals spanning various fields, such as Political Geography, Cities, European Societies, Nationalities Papers, and Europe-Asia Studies.
Elena Cristina Mitrea studies political behaviour and attitudes, including attitudes towards migration and migrants. She holds a PhD and MA in Political Science from the Central European University. Currently a postdoctoral researcher in an EU-funded research project on citizen engagement with digital political campaigning, she was previously assistant professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of the Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu.