Barbara Waldis

Barbara Waldis is a part-time (50% position) Professor of Social Work at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Neuchâtel, where she has held the Chair of Social Work since February 2022. She is affiliated with the newly established Transdisciplinary Institute of Social Work.

• Education: PhD in Anthropology from the Faculty of Arts, University of Fribourg (Switzerland).

Research Interests span trans-European aging populations, postcolonial educational policies, the intersection of art and digitalization in social work, and decolonial approaches to the field. Her work includes SNSF-funded projects on binational families in Switzerland, Tunisia, and Bulgaria, and support for seniors in trans-European families. She has also explored digitalization in social work and postcolonial education policies in Mauritius and Réunion.

Scientific Awards include prestigious fellowships at institutions such as the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris, the Netherlands Institute of Advanced Studies, and the Max-Planck-Institut für Ethnologische Forschung in Germany. She has led scientific commissions for the Swiss Society for Ethnology and the Social Work Department of HES-SO.

Teaching Experience encompasses qualitative research methodology at BA, MA, and postgraduate levels, with roles at the School of Social Work of HES-SO Valais-Wallis, University of Neuchâtel, and University of Fribourg. She has contributed to the Transdisciplinary Institute of Social Work, focusing on collaborative research frameworks.