Tuba Bircan

Prof. Tuba Bircan is an Associate Professor and the lead of AIMS Lab -AI, Migration & Society, part of the BRISPO, at the Department of Sociology. In addition, she holds a position as a Senior Scientist at the Kavli Research Centre for Ethics, Science, and the Public at the University of Cambridge and Wellcome Connecting Science. With her academic foundation in Statistics (BSc, MSc) and a PhD in Political Science, Prof. Bircan's interdisciplinary approach in computational social science spans a broad spectrum, encompassing migration, social inequalities, public policy, and the innovative use of Big Data and AI in addressing complex socio-political challenges. A committed advocate of open science for societal advancement, Prof. Bircan not only leads the EU-funded H2020 HumMingBird project but also plays a pivotal role in several national projects, demonstrating her wide-ranging impact in the field. She co-leads the CLIMB project, focusing on climate-induced migration in Africa through big data and predictive analytics. Prof. Bircan's involvement extends to the academic community as a member of the editorial boards for Nature Humanities and Social Sciences Communications and PLOS ONE. She also serves on the Ethics Board at the AI Excellence Centre of the Flemish Employment Agency (VDAB) in Belgium. Her publications predominantly explore the methodological facets of migration studies, the application of Big Data and AI in social sciences, and the formulation of inclusive policies to mitigate inequalities.

Research expertise: Migration studies, Artificial Intelligence in socio-political research, methodological innovation in social sciences, inequalities, social and public policy.

Research methods: Mixed methods, computational social science methods, Big Data Analytics, qualitative methodologies, advanced statistical techniques, predictive analytics, survey design, policy analysis.