Institute of Geography

Group Portrait

Prof. Dr. Susan Thieme

Executive Director of GIUB and Unit Leader Critical Sustainability Studies

Critical Sustainability Studies

Phone
+41 31 684 88 72
E-Mail
susan.thieme@unibe.ch
Office
106
Postal Address
University of Bern
Institute of Geography
Hallerstrasse 12
CH-3012 Bern

Research Interests

  • Sustainability, transformation
  • Im/mobility, migration, labour, health care
  • Social theory and questions of in/justice & emancipation
  • Transdisciplinarity, social learning
  • Methodological approaches and knowledge co-production between research, academia, (digital) media and art

I am professor of Geography and Critical Sustainability Studies and currently director of the institute. My research focuses on societal transformation, justice and sustainability at the interfaces of migration, im/mobilities, work and education. I am interested in social learning processes and transdisciplinarity, particularly making new media, art and digital technologies an integral part of research activities and developing unorthodox coalitions of aesthetics and geography. 

I am the founder and now co-director of the mLAB at the Institute of Geography. As one of the many mLAB acitivities I am co-leading the Global Science Film Festival with Samer Angelone and Mirko Winkel.
 
Before coming to Bern (2017) I held a professorship at the Freie Universität Berlin in Geography of Transformation and Globalization. Earlier stages of my career were the University of Zurich (PhD and Habilitation) and visiting fellowships at the University of Sussex (UK), the American University of Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan) and the Institute of Social Studies de Hague (NL).
 
My biography is strongly linked to the politics of im/mobilities of people and knowledge. 

As PhD and postdoc I was involved in the Swiss National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South, a global network of institutions researching global change and sustainable development.
The strong take on inter- and transdisciplinarity very much influenced my point of view on academic practices. 
Furthermore I highly benefited from long research stays in South and Central Asia. 

Born in the German Democratic Republic (former GDR), with German citizenship since 1991 and later with Swiss citizenship, I have experienced various forms of exclusion and then increasing societal participation. 
Without the political changes of 1989 my professional path would have been very different. While my parents' and grandparents' generations experienced precarity and devaluation of work experiences and degrees with all the new opportunities coming along, I meanwhile benefited from studies and internships abroad and later from moving to Switzerland. At the same time, like nearly a quarter of the population, I had no formal political participation in Switzerland for twelve years.

Now, with my dual citizenship and my professional status, I have almost unlimited mobility options in a highly unequal world where the mobility of the majority of people is highly selective, restricted and securitized.

CV

Appointments

  • Since January 2023: Co-director of the Institute of Geography with Prof. Dr. Jean-David Gerber
  • since August 2017: Professorship, University of Bern, Geography and Critical Sustainability Studies
  • 2015 – 2017: Professorship, Freie Universität Berlin, Humangeography, Globalisation, Transformation, Gender
  • 2008 – 2014: Research group leader ‘Im/mobilities and Migration’ and senior lecturer, Geography, University of Zurich, Switzerland
  • 2005 – 2008: Post-doc, Humangeography, University of Zurich
    • 2001 – 2005: Research and teaching assistant in Human Geography, University of Zurich
    • 2003: Consultant for International Labour Office (ILO) Geneva (part-time)
  • 2000 - 2001: German Development Cooperation (GIZ) Germany and Bangladesh
  • 1999: Penang Heritage Trust, Penang, Malaysia (ASA Scholarship Carl Duisberg Society

Education

  • 2014: Unternehmensgründung und –führung, venturelab.ch, ETH and University of Zurich
  • 2012: Habilitation and Venia Legendi, University of Zurich, Switzerland
  • 2005: PhD in Human Geography, University of Zurich, Switzerland
  • 2000: M. Sc. in Human Geography, Sociology and Political Science, University of Potsdam, Germany (incl. Erasmus Semester University of Plymouth, UK)

Visiting Fellowships

  • 2011: American University Central Asia (AUCA) | Bishkek | Kyrgyzstan
  • 2010: Institute of Social Studies (ISS) | De Hague | NL
  • 2006/07: University of Sussex Centre for Migration Research | UK

Outreach

  • Since 3/2023: collaboration with HELVETAS and Museum Ballenberg on their joint exhibition ‘Weltweit unterwegs: 2024’ (Globally on the way), invited residency on “migration, climate change &in/justice” as part of research project “EcoArtLab”
  • 2020: Major contribution to MOOC Massive Open Online Course ‘Partnering for Change: Link Research to Societal Challenges’, Principles, processes, and applications of transdisciplinarity. Co-created by td-net, Commission for Research Partnerships with Developing Countries, Swiss TPH, Swiss Universities of Basel, Bern and Geneva, Universities of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland and Luzern, ETH Zurich, University for Teacher Education Zug.
  • 2020: Host and jury member of Switzerland finals of famelab: a worldwide science communication competition, hosted by Inst. of Geography, University of Bern. Organiser: British Council.
  • Since 2018: Co-director Global Science Film Festival (with Samer Angelone, Zurich and Mirko Winkel), https://www.sciencefilm.ch/, Bern edition on October 28th/29th 2023
  • “Wissenschaft auf Leinwand”, Radio RaBe, 22.11.2021.
  • “Vorhang auf für das Wissen”, BernetBlog, 28.10.2021.
  • “Vom Elfenbeinturm in den Kinosaal”, Berner Zeitung, 12.11.2019.
  • “Global Science Film Festival zum ersten Mal in Bern”, Uni Bern Media, 5.11.2019.
  • 2017: Foundation of the mLAB, Geography, University of Bern (since 2018 co-lead with Carolin Schurr and Mirko Winkel)
  • 2011-2014: Policy advice for Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) & HELVETAS
  • 2008: Documentary "the other silk road" (with Panos South Asia)
  • 2003-05: Empowerment of Nepali labour migrants in India (with South Asia Study Center, Delhi)
  • 2003: Consultancy for International Labour Organisation (ILO), Geneva, Switzerland

Memberships

Research

Current research projects

 

Completed research projects

 

Current main supervisor of the following Phds

Paschen, Johanna (Since 2023): Transdisciplinary Research in Art and Climate Science Collaborations: Methodologies, procedures and practices for a just knowledge co-creation between artists, scientists, society, and the more-than-human collaboration in the context of Switzerland. 'EcoArtLab' in collaboration with Dr. Yvonne Schmidt (PI, SNSF project),  Bern Academy of Arts, BHK

Hoppler, Jöri (Since 2023): Professionelle Kompetenzentwicklung durch videobasierte Fallarbeit in der Lehrpersonenausbildung. University of Bern and Dr. Matthias Probst, University of Teacher Education Bern 

Tschiderer, Luca (Since 2022): Reclaiming Work and Care as Commons: Investigating the Role of Cooperatives, Autonomous Management, and Labour Agency for a just and sustainable Health-Care Sector. University of Bern


Completed

Trechsel, Lilian (2021): Learning for Sustainable Development in Higher Education and Beyond: Finding and Shaping Transformative Spaces. University of Bern.

Graf, Samuel (2018): Transnationally tied: Social, economic and political linkages of the Eritrean diaspora in Switzerland and how they can influence change in their home country. University of Zurich.

Pörtner, Ephraim (2018): Encountering asylum-seekers: Politics of mobility at the margins of the State. University of Zurich.

Hatcher, Craig (2014): Law, Space and the City: A legal geography of urban change in post-socialist Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. University of Zurich.

Samanchina, Jarkyn (2014): The influence of educational migration on the development of inter-state relations between Kyrgyzstan and Turkey. Bishkek Humanitarian University, Kyrgyzstan. (In collaboration with Prof. A. Elebaeva, Academy of Science, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan)

Publications

Jump to: 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003

2024

Thieme, Susan; Tibet, Eda Elif (2024). Unorthodox Coalitions - Co Creative Media Initiatives for Transformative Critical Sustainability Studies. In: Giri, Ananta Kumar; Biswal, Santosh Kumar (eds.) Rethinking Media Studies: Media, Meditation and Communication (pp. 147-164). London: Routledge India 10.4324/9781032632667-12

2023

Thieme, Susan; Fry, Patricia Elizabeth (2023). Teaching transdisciplinary competencies for sustainability transformation by co-producing social learning videos. GAIA - ökologische Perspektiven für Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft / ecological perspectives for science and society, 32(1), pp. 154-161. Oekom Verlag 10.14512/gaia.32.1.13

Thieme, Susan; Vögeli, Irene; Winkel, Mirko; Tschiderer, Luca (2023). Narrating care-work: negotiating geographical research and artistic practice in transdisciplinary teaching. QuPuG : Journal für qualitative Forschung in Pflege- und Gesundheitswissenschaft, 1(10), pp. 6-14. Medical Update Marketing & Media, Wien

Thieme, Susan (2023). Durchgangsort Tellskapelle. Restaurant Tellsplatte, Sisikon (UR). In: Klauser, Francisco; Landolt, Sara; Müller, Martin; Schoepfer, Isabelle (eds.) In 30 Tagen durch die Schweiz. Einblicke in ungeahnte Orte (pp. 22-27). HELVETIQ

Thieme, Susan (2023). Migrationsinfrastrukturen und Mobilitätsungerechtigkeit. In: Almanach Entwicklungspolitik 2024. Gehen müssen, bleiben können. Infrastrukturen der globalen Migration (pp. 43-58). Luzern: Caritas-Verlag

2022

Thieme, Susan; Schulte-Vels, Thomas (2022). Kritisches Denken: Eine Einladung zum Mitreden und Mitdenken. Psychiatrische Pflege, 7(6), pp. 9-11. Hogrefe 10.1024/2297-6965/a000458

Thieme, Susan; Richter, Marina; Ammann, Carole (2022). Economic Rationalities and Notions of ‘Good Cure and Care’. Medical anthropology, 41(4), pp. 460-473. Taylor & Francis 10.1080/01459740.2022.2037082

Kölbel, Andrea; Pfaff-Czarnecka, Joanna; Thieme, Susan (eds.) (2022). Universities as Transformative Social Spaces. Mobilities and Mobilizations from South Asian Perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press 10.1093/oso/9780192865571.001.0001

Pfaff-Czarnecka, Joanna; Thieme, Susan; Kölbel, Andrea (2022). Introduction: Universities as transformative social spaces. In: Kölbel, Andrea; Pfaff-Czarnecka, Joanna; Thieme, Susan (eds.) Universities as Transformative Social Spaces. Mobilities and Mobilizations from South Asian Perspectives (pp. 1-28). Oxford: Oxford University Press

Jayadeva, Sazana; Thieme, Susan (2022). Building bridges: Narratives from and about educational consultants as mediators in international student mobility. In: Kölbel, Andrea; Pfaff-Czarnecka, Joanna; Thieme, Susan (eds.) Universities as Transformative Social Spaces. Mobilities and Mobilizations from South Asian Perspectives (pp. 137-162). Oxford: Oxford University Press

2021

Janker, Judith; Thieme, Susan (2021). Migration and justice in the era of sustainable development goals: a conceptual framework. Sustainability science, 16(5), pp. 1423-1437. Springer 10.1007/s11625-021-00958-3

Trechsel, Lilian Julia; Zimmermann, Anne Barbara; Steinböck, Camilla; Breu, Thomas; Herweg, Karl; Thieme, Susan (2021). Safe Spaces for Disruptive Learning in a North–South Research Partnership Context: International Mobility of Doctoral Students. Sustainability, 13(4), p. 2413. MDPI 10.3390/su13042413

Fry, Patricia; Schmid, Franziska; Thieme, Susan (2021). 'Social Learning Videos' vermitteln Handlungswissen. Proclim Flash, 74, pp. 10-11. ProClim Forum für Klima und globalen Wandel

Thieme, Susan; Fry, Patricia (2021). Transdisziplinarität praktisch erleben: Prinzipien für die geographische Hochschullehre. In: Wintzer, Jeannine; Mossig, Ivo; Hof, Angela (eds.) Prinzipien, Strukturen und Praktiken geographischer Hochschullehre. UTB M: Vol. 5668 (pp. 105-118). Bern: Haupt Verlag

Fry, Patricia; Thieme, Susan (2021). From the sage on the stage to the guide on the side. Studierende als aktive Partner*innen für langfristigen Wissenserwerb. In: Wintzer, Jeannine; Mossig, Ivo; Hof, Angela (eds.) Prinzipien, Strukturen und Praktiken geographischer Hochschullehre. UTB M: Vol. 5668 (pp. 275-288). Bern: Haupt Verlag

2020

Ammann, Carole; Mall, Julia; Richter, Marina; Thieme, Susan (2020). Negotiating social differences and power geometries among healthcare professionals in a Swiss hospital. Gender, Place and Culture, 28(12), pp. 1715-1737. Routledge 10.1080/0966369X.2020.1847047

Thieme, Susan; Tibet, Eda Elif (2020). New political upheavals and women alliances in solidarity beyond “lock down” in Switzerland at times of a global pandemic. Interface : a journal for and about social movements, 21(1), pp. 199-207.

Ammann, Carole; Richter, Marina; Thieme, Susan (2020). Analytical and Methodological Disruptions: Implications of an Institutional Ethnography in a Swiss Acute Hospital. Zeitschrift für Diversitätsforschung und -management, 5(1-2020), pp. 71-75. Verlag Barbara Budrich 10.3224/zdfm.v5i1.08

Ammann, Carole; Mall, Julia; Richter, Marina; Thieme, Susan (2020). Generation, Geschlecht und Gesundheit: Diversität als Chance und Herausforderung. à propos, 2020(1), pp. 18-19. Spitalzentrum Biel

2019

Thieme, Susan; Eyer, Philipp; Vorbrugg, Alexander Benjamin (2019). Film VerORTen: Film als Forschungs- und Kommunikationsmedium in der Geographie. Geographica Helvetica, 74(4), pp. 293-297. Copernicus Publications 10.5194/gh-74-293-2019

Ammann, Carole; Thieme, Susan; Richter, Marina (2019). Social Differences among Nurses and Physicians in Switzerland: An Intersectional Perspective. GeoAgenda(2019/1), pp. 18-21. Verband Geographie Schweiz (ASG)

Fry, Patricia; Thieme, Susan (2019). A social learning video method: Identifying and sharing successful transformation knowledge for sustainable soil management in Switzerland. Soil use and management, 35(1), pp. 185-194. Wiley 10.1111/sum.12505

Bachmann, Felicitas; Maharjan, Amina; Thieme, Susan; Fleiner, Renate; Wymann von Dach, Susanne (eds.) (2019). Migration and sustainable mountain development: Turning challenges into opportunities. Sustainable Mountain Development Series. Bern, Switzerland: Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, with Bern Open Publishing

Thieme, Susan; Murzakulova, Asel (2019). Migration, multilocality and the question of return in Kyrgyzstan. In: Bachmann, Felicitas; Maharjan, Amina; Thieme, Susan; Fleiner, Renate; Wymann von Dach, Susanne (eds.) Migration and Sustainable Mountain Development: Turning Challenges into Opportunities. Sustainable Mountain Development Series (pp. 30-31). Bern: Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, with Bern Open Publishing

Bachmann, Felicitas; Maharjan, Amina; Thieme, Susan; Wymann von Dach, Susanne (2019). Migration: More than a livelihood strategy for mountain people. In: Bachmann, Felicitas; Maharjan, Armina; Thieme, Susan; Fleiner, Renate; Wymann von Dach, Susanne (eds.) Migration and sustainable mountain development: Turning challenges into opportunities (pp. 8-11). Bern, Switzerland: Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, with Bern Open Publishing

Bachmann, Felicitas; Maharjan, Amina; Thieme, Susan; Wymann von Dach, Susanne (2019). Recommendations for policy-making. In: Bachmann, Felicitas; Maharjan, Armina; Thieme, Susan; Fleiner, Renate; Wymann von Dach, Susanne (eds.) Migration and sustainable mountain development: Turning challenges into opportunities (pp. 58-61). Bern, Switzerland: Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, with Bern Open Publishing

Bachmann, Felicitas; Maharjan, Armina; Thieme, Susan (2019). Addressing the causes of migration – and enhancing its benefits. In: Bachmann, Felicitas; Maharjan, Armina; Thieme, Susan; Fleiner, Renate; Wymann von Dach, Susanne (eds.) Migration and sustainable mountain development: Turning challenges into opportunities (pp. 44-45). Bern, Switzerland: Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, with Bern Open Publishing

Bachmann, Felicitas; Maharjan, Amina; Thieme, Susan (2019). Opportunities and challenges for mountain communities. In: Bachmann, Felicitas; Maharjan, Armina; Thieme, Susan; Fleiner, Renate; Wymann von Dach, Susanne (eds.) Migration and sustainable mountain development: Turning challenges into opportunities (pp. 26-29). Bern, Switzerland: Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, with Bern Open Publishing

Wymann von Dach, Susanne; Bachmann, Felicitas; Bracher, Christoph Peter; Maharjan, Amina; Thieme, Susan (2019). Current population and migration dynamics in mountains. In: Bachmann, Felicitas; Maharjan, Armina; Thieme, Susan; Fleiner, Renate; Wymann von Dach, Susanne (eds.) Migration and sustainable mountain development: Turning challenges into opportunities (pp. 12-23). Bern, Switzerland: Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, with Bern Open Publishing

2018

Landolt, Sara; Thieme, Susan (2018). Highly skilled migrants entering the labour market: Experiences and strategies in the contested field of overqualification and skills mismatch. Geoforum, 90, pp. 36-44. Elsevier 10.1016/j.geoforum.2018.01.009

Ifejika Speranza, Chinwe; Wüthrich, Tamara; Rüegg, Simon; Zinsstag, Jakob; Keune, Hans; Boillat, Sébastien; Blake, Lauren; Thieme, Susan; Degeling, Chris; Rist, Stephan (2018). Evaluating the contributions of One Health initiatives to social sustainability. In: Rüegg, Simon R.; Häsler, Barbara; Zinsstag, Jakob (eds.) Integrated approaches to health. A handbook for the evaluation of One Health (pp. 86-125). Wageningen: Wageningen Academic Publishers

2017

Thieme, Susan (2017). Educational consultants in Nepal: professionalization of services for students who want to study abroad. Mobilities, 12(2), pp. 243-258. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group 10.1080/17450101.2017.1292780

Thieme, Susan (2017). Non-social Science Perspectives in Research on social Sustainability. In: Opielka, Michael; Renn, Ortwin (eds.) Symposium: Soziale Nachhaltigkeit, Beiträge für das "Symposium: Soziale Nachhaltigkeit" am 2.11.2017, Potsdam (IASS) (pp. 155-163). Norderstedt: Books on Demand

2016

Graf, Samuel; Thieme, Susan (2016). "We look similar and have the same geographical origin": translocal encounters of second-generation Eritreans with a new generation of refugees from Eritrea. Geographica Helvetica, 71(4), pp. 331-340. Copernicus Publications 10.5194/gh-71-331-2016

2015

Babel, Anna; Thieme, Susan; Grabska, Katarzyna (2015). Negotiating one position: Switzerland at the Global Forum on Migration and Development. Development in practice, 25(6), pp. 856-866. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group 10.1080/09614524.2015.1058341

Hatcher, Craig; Thieme, Susan (2015). Institutional transition: Internal migration, the propiska, and post-socialist urban change in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Urban Studies, 53(10), pp. 2175-2191. SAGE 10.1177/0042098015587252

2014

Thieme, Susan (2014). Multilokales Erwerbs- und Familienleben im postsozialistischen Kirgistan. Geographische Rundschau, 64(11), pp. 40-45. Westermann

Thieme, Susan (2014). Coming Home? Patterns and Characteristics of Return Migration in Kyrgyzstan. International migration, 52(5), pp. 127-143. Wiley-Blackwell 10.1111/j.1468-2435.2011.00724.x

Landolt, Sara; Thieme, Susan (April 2014). Vorwort zu Feministisches Geo-RundMail Nr. 59. Feministisches Geo-RundMail(59), pp. 2-3.

Thieme, Susan; Ghimire, Anita (2014). Making Migrants Visible in Post-MDG Debates. Sustainability, 6(1), pp. 399-415. MDPI 10.3390/su6010399

Lindberg, Emma; Chakrabarti, Parijat; Thieme, Susan (2014). Brain drain or brain circulation? Career paths of international students: Swiss scholarships for international students at ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich Zürich: ETH Global

Thieme, Susan (2014). An International Degree, Social Ties and Return: When International Graduates Make a Career Back Home in Kyrgyzstan. Internationales Asienforum, 45(1-2), pp. 113-128. ABI, Arnold-Bergstraesser-Institut

Thieme, Susan; Ghimire, Anita; Gurung, Ganesh (2014). Making migration safer (Evidence for Policy Series 2b). Bern: NCCR North-South

2013

Thieme, Susan (July 2013). Banning women from migrating. In: Feministisches Geo-RundMail, 56.

Thieme, Susan (27 May 2013). Bans Will Not Stop Women from Migrating. In: Central Eurasian Scholars & Media Initiative.

Thieme, Susan; Elebaeva, Alnur; Bruce, Zarina; Samanchina, Jarkyn (February 2013). Studying abroad: encouraging students to return to Kyrgyzstan (Evidence for Policy Series, Regional edition Central Asia 5). Bern: NCCR North-South

2012

Rogaly, Ben; Thieme, Susan (2012). Experiencing Space—Time: The Stretched Lifeworlds of Migrant Workers in India. Environment and planning. A, Economy and space, 44(9), pp. 2086-2100. Sage 10.1068/a44493

Thieme, Susan (2012). "Action": Publishing Research Results in Film. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung, 13(1) Freie Univ. Berlin

Ghimire, Anita; Upreti, Bishnu Raj; Adhikari, Jagannath; ArnØy, Joakim; Thieme, Susan (eds.) (2012). Nepal Migration Year Book 2011. Kathmandu & Lalitpur, Nepal: Nepal Institute of Development Studies (NIDS) / National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South South Asia Coordination Office

2011

Ghimire, Anita; Rajbanshi, Ashok; Gurung, Ganesh; Adhikari, Jagannath; Thieme, Susan (eds.) (2011). Nepal Migration Year Book 2010. Kathmandu & Lalitpur, Nepal: Nepal Institute of Development Studies (NIDS) / National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South South Asia Coordination Office

Geiser, Urs; Müller-Böker, Ulrike; Shahbaz, Babar; Steimann, Bernd; Thieme, Susan (2011). Towards an Analytical Livelihoods Perspective in Critical Development Research. In: Research for Sustainable Development. Perspectives of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South: Vol. 6 (pp. 257-271). Bern: Geographica Bernensia

2010

Thieme, Susan; Siegmann, Karin Astrid (2010). Coping on Women’s Backs. Social capital-vulnerability links through a gender lens. Current sociology, 58(5), pp. 715-737. Sage 10.1177/0011392110372732

Schoch, Nadia; Steimann, Bernd; Thieme, Susan (2010). Migration and animal husbandry: Competing or complementary livelihood strategies. Evidence from Kyrgyzstan. Natural resources forum, 34(3), pp. 211-221. Wiley-Blackwell 10.1111/j.1477-8947.2010.01306.x

Steimann, Bernd; Thieme, Susan (14 May 2010). Wir gehen nicht zurück: Bishkeks Vororte als Spiegel gesellschaftlicher Umbrüche in Kirgistan. Neue Zürcher Zeitung NZZ, 109, p. 9. Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung

Thieme, Susan (2010). Sustaining livelihoods in multi-local settings: A theoretical, methodological and empirical perspective (Unpublished). (Habilitation)

Bichsel, Christine; Fokou, Gilbert; Ibraimova, Asel; Ulan, Kasymov; Steimann, Bernd; Thieme, Susan (2010). Natural Resource Institutions in Transformation: The Tragedy and Glory of the Private. In: Global Change and Sustainable Development: A Synthesis of Regional Experiences from Research Partnerships. Perspectives of the Swiss National Centre of Competence of Research (NCCR) North-South: Vol. 5 (pp. 255-269). Bern: Geographica Bernensia

Barbora, Sanjay; Thieme, Susan; Siegmann, Karin Astrid (2010). Patterns and Politics of Migration in South Asia. In: Global Change and Sustainable Development: A Synthesis of Regional Experiences from Research Partnerships. Perspectives of the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South: Vol. 5 (pp. 313-328). Bern: Geographica Bernensia

2009

Thieme, Susan (2009). Wohin ist zurück? Unterschiedliche Vorstellungen von Rückkehrmigration und mögliche Folgen für die ländliche Entwicklung in Kirgistan. Zeitschrift für Bevölkerungswissenschaft, 34(3-4), pp. 253-273. VS-Verlag 10.1007/s12523-010-0045-y

Thieme, Susan (2009). Where to return to? Rural Urban Interlinkages in Times of Internal and International Migration (Policy Briefs on Civil Society). Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan: Social Research Center, American University Central Asia (AUCA)

Thieme, Susan (2009). Dubai chalo!: Wer baut Dubai? In: Blum, Elisabeth; Neitzke, Peter (eds.) Dubai: Stadt aus dem Nichts. Bauwelt Fundamente: Vol. 143 (pp. 188-203). Basel: Birkhäuser 10.1515/9783035602760

2008

Barbora, Sanjay; Thieme, Susan; Siegmann, Karin Astrid; Menon, Vineetha; Gurung, Ganesh (2008). Migration Matters in South Asia: Commonalities and Critiques. Economic and political weekly, 43(24), pp. 57-65. Sameeksha Trust

Thieme, Susan (2008). Sustaining Livelihoods in Multi‐local Settings: Possible Theoretical Linkages Between Transnational Migration and Livelihood Studies. Mobilities, 3(1), pp. 51-71. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group 10.1080/17450100701797315

Thieme, Susan (2008). Living in Transition: How Kyrgyz Women Juggle Their Different Roles in a Multi-local Setting. Gender, technology and development, 12(3), pp. 325-345. Routledge, Taylor and Francis 10.1177/097185240901200303

Ahmed, Kazu; Bardoloi, Ushma; Kashyap, Sushmita (2008). The other silk road [Movie]. NCCR North-South & Panos South Asia

2007

Herzig, Pascale; Thieme, Susan (2007). How geography matters: neglected dimensions in contemporary migration research. Asiatische Studien / Etudes asiatiques AS/EA, 61(4), pp. 1077-1112. de Gruyter

2006

Kollmair, Michael; Manadhar, Siddhi; Subedi, Bhim; Thieme, Susan (2006). New figures for old stories: Migration and remittances in Nepal. Migration letters, 3(2), pp. 151-160. Transnational Press London

Thieme, Susan; Kollmair, Michael; Müller-Böker, Ulrike (2006). Transnationale soziale Netzwerke und Migration: Nepalis aus Far West Nepal in Delhi. Geographische Rundschau, 58(10), pp. 24-30. Westermann

Thieme, Susan (2006). Social Networks and Migration. Kultur, Gesellschaft, Umwelt/Culture, Society, Environment: Vol. 7. Münster: LIT Verlag

2005

Thieme, Susan; Wyss, Simone (2005). Migration Patterns and Remittance Transfer in Nepal: A Case Study of Sainik Basti in Western Nepal. International migration, 43(5), pp. 59-98. Wiley-Blackwell 10.1111/j.1468-2435.2005.00342.x

Thieme, Susan; Bhattrai, Raju; Gurung, Ganesh; Kollmair, Michael; Müller-Böker, Ulrike (2005). Addressing the Needs of Nepalese Migrant Workers in Nepal and in Delhi, India. Mountain Research and Development, 25(2), pp. 109-114. International Mountain Society

2004

Thieme, Susan; Müller-Böker, Ulrike (2004). Financial Self-Help Associations among Far West Nepalese Labor Migrants in Delhi, India. Asian and Pacific migration journal, 13(3), pp. 339-361. Sage 10.1177/011719680401300303

2003

Thieme, Susan (1 October 2003). Savings and credit associations and remittances : the case of Far West Nepalese labour migrants in Delhi, India Geneva: Social Finance Programme, Employment Sector, International Labour Office

Thieme, Susan; Kollmair, Michael; Müller-Böker, Ulrike (2003). Research Report: Labour Migration from Far West Nepal to Delhi, India. European bulletin of Himalayan research, 24, pp. 82-89. SAI Heidelberg

Outreach

Activities

Since 2018

Co-director of the Global Science Film Festival

Directors: Samer Angelone (Zurich), Susan Thieme und Mirko Winkel (Bern)

Initiated in Zurich by Samer Angelone, we decided to bring the festival to Bern (2017).
The Global Science Film Festival builds bridges between filmmakers, researchers and different audiences through watching and discussing a curated film programme (in collaboration with RexCinema Bern). Short film sessions provide the stage for professional as well as student film work. The festival also sets an example of how researchers and students from different disciplines collaboratively organize such an event.

2020

Major contribution to MOOC Massive Open Online Course

 ‘Partnering for Change: Link Research to Societal Challenges’, Principles, processes, and applications of transdisciplinarity

Co-created by td-net, Commission for Research Partnerships with Developing Countries, Swiss TPH, Swiss Universities of Basel, Bern and Geneva, Universities of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland and Luzern, ETH Zurich, University for Teacher Education Zug. (2’400 Enrollments)

2020

Foto: Life Science Zurich Communication & Events

Host and jury member of Switzerlands finals of FameLab: a worldwide science communication competition

Hosted by Institute of Geography, University of Bern.
Organiser: British Council.

2017

Foundation of the mLab, Geography, University of Bern

Co-lead of the mLab with Carolin Schurr and Mirko Winkel since 2018.
Experimental space that encourages researchers and students to explore and critically reflect new forms of trans- and interdisciplinary collaboration; making new media, art, and digital technologies an integral part of research activities focused on publishing.


Media Coverage (selection)

2019

Foto: Berner Zeitung

"Vom Elfenbeintrum in den Kinosaal"

Vom Elfenbeinturm in den Kinosaal. Artikel in der Berner Zeitung zum 2. Global Science Film Festival.

2019

"Global Science Film Festival zum ersten Mal in Bern"

Wissenschaft auf der Leinwand: Zum ersten Mal findet in Bern das Global Science Film Festival statt. Am Wochenende vom 16. und 17. November 2019 werden im cineMovie 1 (Quinnie) 18 Spiel-, Dokumentar- und Kurzfilme mit Bezug zu aktuellen wissenschaftlichen Debatten gezeigt – darunter 11 Welt- und Schweizer Premieren. Festivaldirektorin der Berner Ausgabe ist die Berner Geographieprofessorin Susan Thieme.