معرفی
Dr. Charishma Ratnam is a Senior Research Fellow at the Social Equity Research Centre in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies at RMIT University, Australia. She holds an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellowship (2025-2028) focusing on how refugees use digital technologies during resettlement. Previously, she was an Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Deakin University and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Monash Migration and Inclusion Centre. She has held visiting positions at the University of Lisbon, Toronto Metropolitan University, and Stockholm University.
Dr. Ratnam's research examines refugee resettlement across social and cultural geography and migration studies. Her conceptual contributions center on memory, identity, and place through the experiences of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in Australia, with particular focus on Sri Lankan refugees. She develops innovative research approaches including digital, visual, ethnographic, and walking methods. Her research interests include refugee resettlement, digital practices, studies of home, memory, and identity. She collaborates extensively with Sri Lankan refugees and asylum seekers in Australia.
Her research program has been developed through multiple funded projects including an ARC DECRA project (2025-2028) on digital technologies in resettlement, a Victorian Government project on community safety strategies, and a project on COVID-19 communication strategies for culturally diverse youth. Her publications demonstrate a consistent focus on migration, home-making, and digital practices among refugee communities.
- Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
- Australian Research Council DECRA Senior Research Fellow
- Editorial Advisory Board member for Geographical Research (2022)
- Book Review Editor for Journal of Sociology (2021-2025)
- Committee membership with Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia and Institute of Australian Geographers
Dr. Ratnam supervises postgraduate students, with recent supervision including a Masters project on climate change and migration and a PhD on Tamil asylum seekers' belonging. Her research has been supported by multiple grants from Australian Research Council and Victorian Government departments. She has developed collaborative relationships with community organizations working with refugees and migrants.
She works within the Social Equity Research Centre, focusing on developing community-based research that addresses social inclusion and equity issues, particularly for refugee and migrant communities in Australia.
