Kevin Smets

Kevin Smets is a Professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel's Department of Communication Sciences, affiliated with the ECHO: Media, Culture & Politics Research Group. He leads the Brussels Interdisciplinary Research centre on Migration and Minorities (BIRMM) and holds a postdoctoral fellowship from the Research Foundation - Flanders (2013-2016). His research focuses on migration, diaspora studies, media representation of refugees, and participatory filmmaking in border regions. Smets has produced over 100 peer-reviewed publications and has been awarded the MSCA-COFUND ImπACT programme as supervisor in 2021.

• Key affiliations: ECHO Research Group, BIRMM Centre
• Research themes: Refugee integration, transnational identity, far-right media engagement, and border studies

Recent projects include studying digital far-right video game narratives and pan-Arab news satire production. His work frequently intersects media studies with political and cultural analysis, emphasizing participatory methods in border regions. Smets has organized over 160 academic activities including conferences, workshops, and public lectures on topics ranging from Turkish cinema to true crime narratives.