Dr Jiyar Aghapouri is a postdoctoral researcher in Migration and Displacement on the Gender, Justice and Security Hub. He has a PhD in Politics and International Relations from the University of Auckland whose research and teaching are in the areas of migration, ethnicities, nationalism, virtual research methods, gender, social media activism, non-state actors, and international relations (Middle East, Kurdistan and Iran, specifically). On the Gender, Jutsice and Security Hub he has been involved in design and implementation of a research on three main projects: 1) Gendered Dynamics of International LabourMigration 2) Gender and Forced Displacement, and 3) Return, Reintegration and Political Restructuring in post conflicted areas.  He is an expert in virtual/cyber ethnography and qualitative methods with extensive experience of analysing social media platforms for research on gender, migration, political activism, and national identity.

In addition to his academic work, he has valuable experience in political/human rights activism, media and public appearance, community works, and interpretations/translations. He speaks English, Kurdish and Persian fluently and has a fair knowledge of Arabic and French.