Anja Simonsen

Anja Simonsen is an Associate Professor at the Department of Anthropology, University of Copenhagen, specializing in Somali migrant and refugee experiences across East Africa and Europe. Her research intersects with migration, social invisibility, biometric technologies, and Mediterranean migrant deaths.

• University of Copenhagen
• Department of Anthropology
• Active in The Young Academy and UCPH Migration & Refugee Research Platform

Research Interests: Focused on migrant journeys, biometric governance, European border regimes, and the social life of deceased migrants. Key themes include temporality, clan relations, and humanitarian aid from diasporas.

Grant Leadership: Principal Investigator of the ERC Starting Grant SOLID (2024) and co-participant in the Danish Free Research Fund network (2024-2027).

Academic Awards:

• ERC Starting Grant (2024)
• Danish Free Research Fund (2024-2027)
• Carlsberg Fund Stipend (2020)
• VELUX Foundation Grant (2016-2019)
• FKK Grant (2013-2017)

Teaching & Supervision: Course coordinator for advanced migration courses, supervisor for 1 PhD student (2024–), former co-supervisor for another (2022–2023), and mentor for 10+ MA/BA students since 2017.

Fieldwork: Extensive ethnographic work in Italy, Greece, Somaliland, Turkey, and Ethiopia, with methodological innovations in collaborative forensic-migration studies.