Karlijn Haagsman

Karlijn Haagsman is an Assistant Professor at Maastricht University in the Department of Technology and Society Studies within the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. She has been affiliated with the university since 2010, progressing from PhD candidate and lecturer to postdoctoral researcher and Assistant Professor in 2017. Her research is embedded in migration sociology and cultural anthropology, with a focus on transnational families, mobility trajectories, and the well-being of migrant youth and parents.

She holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Cultural Anthropology from Radboud University and a Research Master in Migration, Ethnic Relations and Multiculturalism from Utrecht University. Her doctoral research examined transnational parenting among Angolan and Nigerian migrants in the Netherlands, culminating in a defended dissertation in 2015. Since 2017, she has been a postdoctoral researcher in the ERC-funded MO-TRAYL project, studying Ghanaian youth mobility across multiple countries using longitudinal and mixed-methods approaches.

Her research interests include transnationalism, migrant well-being, family separation, digital communication in transnational families, and gendered migration. She teaches in the Globalisation and Development programs, coordinating minors and supervising numerous Bachelor’s and Master’s theses. Her publications span high-impact journals such as Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Population, Space and Place, and Social Inclusion, as well as book chapters in major migration handbooks.

Her recent articles emphasize longitudinal mobility patterns, the role of digital platforms like WhatsApp in sustaining transnational family bonds, and the aspirations of 'stayer youth' in Ghana. These works highlight a shift from static to dynamic models of migration analysis, emphasizing youth agency and temporal dimensions.

• Member, Maastricht Centre for Citizenship, Migration and Development (MACIMIDE)
• Member, Dutch Association for Migration Research
• Part of CERES National Research School

She has supervised multiple student theses and coordinated academic programs, demonstrating strong commitment to academic mentorship. Her collaborative research with Valentina Mazzucato and others reflects interdisciplinary teamwork in migration studies. While no formal awards are listed, her sustained research output and leadership in major projects underscore her scholarly impact.

She is actively involved in policy engagement through contributions to policy briefs and public discussions on migration, including work with Studio Europa Maastricht. Her office is located at Grote Gracht 86, Maastricht, and she can be contacted at r.haagsman@maastrichtuniversity.nl.