Olivia is a part-time ESRC funded Doctoral Researcher at the University of Birmingham, based within the Institute for Research into Superdiversity (IRiS). Her research explores how hotels are currently being used as longer-term accommodation for asylum seekers in the UK, drawing on concepts on hospitality and home. She has a BA in Combined Honours – Geography with English Literature, and an MA in Human Geography Research both from Newcastle University.
In 2022 Olivia was selected to participate in the EUniWell MADEINEUROPE Winter School alongside other postgraduate students in the field of migration. Olivia expanded her knowledge of the field through participating in cross-disciplinary lectures and seminars on different migration topics, and presenting at a three-day symposium at the University of Florence.
Additionally, in 2023 Olivia was selected as one of two PhD Students at the University of Birmingham to be winners of the EUniWell PhD Thesis Competition for category of individual and social wellbeing. The prize included funded participation at a research communication workshop at the University of Nantes.
Alongside her academic work, Olivia has over 7 years of experience working in applied social research and evaluation across the third and public sector. She is currently a Senior Research Manager at Ecorys, working on a range of research and evaluation projects for different clients. Her prior experience includes working as the Senior Evaluation Officer for Chevening Scholarships, and as a Research and Evaluation Manager at Renaisi.
In her spare time Olivia supports Care4Calais with English classes and clothing distributions for asylum seekers in hotel accommodation, and is a Trustee for the national refugee befriending charity, HostNation.