Dr NIROSHAN RAMACHANDRAN

Niroshan has been a Lecturer in Criminology at Edge Hill University since February 2022. Prior to this he worked as a Lecturer in Human Geography at the Department of Geography and Geology at Edge Hill University, where he was previously an Associate Tutor (2020/2021) and a Graduate Teaching Assistant (2017/2020) within the Department of Social Sciences.  

Formerly, he was a consultant for the ‘New Dawn’ project implemented by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in Sri Lanka to assist return migration of Indian returnees (Sri Lankan refugees in India). He also supported an assisted voluntary return and reintegration project implemented by International Organisation for Migration (IOM) – UN Migration Agency, Sri Lanka, in the capacity of Project Coordinator. He was also a Programme Support Officer for ZOA International in Sri Lanka assisting internally displaced Tamil people in the war torn North and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka.

His research is primarily focused on social protection for asylum seekers and refugees in host countries. He has expertise in conducting qualitative, multiple-methods research (semi-structured interviews, participant observation and focus groups) and he has a comprehensive understanding of issues related to forced migration and practices in the UK. His doctoral thesis, ‘The Self and The System: Social Protection Experiences of Asylum Seekers and Refugees Living in Glasgow’, makes a significant contribution to knowledge about perceptions of asylum seekers and refugees and their agency in a system that vulnerablises them. This multiple methods research project produced unique findings about how asylum seekers and refugees access and use support and negotiate the often-hostile system. While findings have implications for informing policy and practice, this research has contributed to migration and social protection literature by applying the concept of social protection and illustrates the significance and interconnectedness of various forms of social protection.