Helena Hof

Dr. Helena Hof is a Senior Research and Teaching Fellow at the Department of Japanese Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Zurich, Switzerland. She is currently a guest researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity in 2025, leading a project on foreign entrepreneurs in Tokyo and Singapore. She also holds visiting affiliations with Waseda University's Institute of Asian Migrations and the National University of Singapore's Asia Research Institute.

Her educational and professional background is rooted in sociology and migration studies, with extensive ethnographic fieldwork in Japan and other Asian global cities. Her research bridges mobility studies, sociology of work, and new work paradigms such as startups, focusing on skilled and middle-class European migration. She explores intersections of ethnicity, race, gender, and global urban dynamics, with a strong comparative lens across Tokyo, Singapore, and São Paulo.

Her recent publications reveal a consistent focus on skilled migration regimes, labor market integration, class formation among mobile Europeans, and the role of cultural and racial capital in Asian urban contexts. Themes of temporality, existential mobility, and transnational identity recur across her work, reflecting a deep engagement with both structural and subjective dimensions of migration. Her monograph The EU Migrant Generation in Asia (2022) is a key contribution to the field.

• Book Reviews Editor, Transitions: Journal of Transient Migration
• Program Advisor, Master of Modern Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Zurich
• Group Leader, Collaborative PhD Research Group, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
• Principal Investigator, BMBF-funded project on foreign entrepreneurs in Asia

She advises graduate students and leads research groups, indicating active mentorship. While specific grants are not detailed, her work is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and conducted within prestigious academic institutions. She is also affiliated with research clusters on Asian migration, enhancing transnational collaboration.

Dr. Hof is part of vibrant research networks on migration in Asia, contributing to editorial boards and collaborative research groups. Her work at the Max Planck Institute and other institutions reflects strong institutional engagement in migration and diversity research.