Dr. Laavanya Kathiravelu

Dr. Laavanya Kathiravelu is an Associate Professor in the Division of Sociology at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore, where she also serves as Associate Chair (Graduate and Continuing Education) at the School of Social Sciences. She received her PhD in Sociology from Macquarie University in Sydney (2007-2011), with her dissertation focusing on migration and city-building in Dubai. Her research specializes in international migration, race and ethnic studies, and contemporary urban diversity, particularly in Asia and the Persian Gulf region.

Dr. Kathiravelu was recognized as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) Singapore in 2019 for Academic Leadership and/or Accomplishment by JCI Singapore. Prior to joining NTU, she was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity (2011-2014) and worked as a postdoctoral research fellow and associate researcher at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. She has also been a Fung Fellow at Princeton University (2015-2016), a Fulbright Scholar and Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the City University of New York (2022), and recipient of the Social Science and Humanities Research Council Fellowship (2019).

Her scholarly work focuses on the experiences of low-wage migrant workers, urban diversity, and issues of race and inequality in Singapore and the Gulf states. She authored the book 'Migrant Dubai' (Palgrave, 2016), which examines the experiences of low-wage migrant workers in the UAE. Dr. Kathiravelu has published extensively on migration, race, and social justice issues, and regularly contributes to public discourse through op-eds and commentary on migration and diversity policy. She sits on the board of HOME (Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics) and was awarded the John Lent Best Article award at the MSB section of the Asian Studies Association in 2023.