Mareike Niendorf

Mareike Niendorf is a Researcher and PhD candidate at the Alice Salomon University of Applied Sciences Berlin (ASH Berlin), serving as substitute Program Director for the international Master's program "Social Work as a Human Rights Profession" during the Winter Semester 2024/25. She has been a lecturer in this program since 2023, teaching within the module Social Work and Human Rights.

Her academic background includes a Master's in Social Work as a Human Rights Profession (2017) and a Bachelor of Social Work (2013). Prior to her current position, she worked as a Research Associate at the German Institute for Human Rights (DIMR) from 2014-2021, and has held various teaching assignments related to critical social work and human rights education since 2018.

Niendorf's research focuses on critical social work and human rights, with particular emphasis on human rights-based work with vulnerable populations, anti-discrimination practice with people at high risk of having their human rights violated, and understanding social work as a human rights profession. Her work explores how human rights principles can be effectively implemented in practical social work settings and educational contexts.

Her publications demonstrate a consistent focus on integrating human rights principles into social work education and practice across European contexts. She has contributed to important resources like the "Kompass" handbook for human rights education and has examined critical issues such as racism in political discourse, sexism in workplace environments, and the implementation of human rights in educational settings.

Niendorf is actively involved in several professional networks including the German Society for Social Work (DGSA) as a founding member and co-spokesperson of the Human Rights and Children's Rights working group, and the EASSW Special Interest Group on Social Work and Human Rights Education. At ASH Berlin, she serves as the main representative of academic staff in the Anti-Discrimination Commission and as contact person for the doctoral workshop.