Ruta Nimkar

Ruta is an experienced humanitarian and migration professional. She has held regional and country senior management positions and has consulted for donors, UN agencies and NGOs. Ruta was Country Director for the Danish Refugee Council in Iran from 2016 to 2017; in this role, she engaged extensively with government counterparts and collaborated with UN and INGO partners. In addition to her DPhil, she serves as the Director of Meraki Labs. This consulting company aims to ensure refugees, migrants, and people from conflict-affected communities co-author all work. Ruta has conducted field and desk-based research on mixed migration routes and smuggling networks in Central Asia, the Horn of Africa and West Africa. Ruta specialises in qualitative data analysis and participatory and mixed-methods research. She focuses on ensuring that research is linked to programming, which stems from her long experience working directly with communities to develop new approaches to humanitarian and migration challenges. Ruta's thesis focuses on smuggling ecosystems and their engagement with national and international political dynamics.