Border Lab Summer School 2025

Shairbek Dzhuraev is the co-founder and president of Crossroads Central Asia and a visiting lecturer at the OSCE Academy in Bishkek. With extensive experience in research consultancy, he has worked with the UN, EU, USAID, and other international bodies. His research focuses on Central Asia’s international relations, foreign policy, and water-energy politics. He previously held academic leadership roles at the OSCE Academy and the American University of Central Asia. Shairbek holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of St Andrews and an MSc from LSE.

Willem van Schendel is Professor of Modern Asian History at the University of Amsterdam and a senior researcher at the International Institute of Social History. His work spans history and anthropology, with research interests in borderlands, labour history, more-than-human relations, and visual archives. He has written extensively on South and Southeast Asia, especially Bangladesh and the Eastern Himalayas. Willem co-edits the Asian Borderlands book series for Amsterdam University Press and has published key works on border studies, including Entangled Lives and The Bengal Borderland.

Asel Murzakulova is a Senior Research Fellow with the University of Central Asia’s Mountain Societies Research Institute and Co-Founder of the analytical club “Mongu.” She has extensive experience working with governmental, international, and civil society organizations across Central Asia, where her expertise has contributed to research and policy development on issues such as conflicts, migration, natural resource management, (in)security, hydro politics and community adaptation to climate change.

Zalina Enikeeva is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Policy and Administration, University of Central Asia. She has extensive collaboration experience with the Institute of Trade Policy of the Higher School of Economics (HSE), World Bank (WB), German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), etc. in conducting research. Her expertise includes integration of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), international trade, food security and tourism.

Nick Megoran is a political geographer and professor at Newcastle University. His research explores post-Cold War geopolitics, with a focus on Central Asia’s border disputes, nation-building, and the politics of peace. He also examines the intersections of religion, memory, and conflict, and is engaged in critical debates on academic freedom, workplace ethics, and the role of universities in public life. Nick is completing a book on violent borders and co-founded The Analogue University collective. He serves on the editorial board of Central Asian Survey.

Paul Fryer is a University Lecturer and Docent in Human Geography at the University of Helsinki. His research explores labour migration from Central Asia to Russia, focusing on the social, economic, and political dynamics shaping migrants’ experiences. He also investigates changing perceptions and contested meanings of the Tajik-Kyrgyz border in the Pamir Mountains. His work contributes to broader debates on mobility, borders, and regional identity in Central Asia.

Emil Nasritdinov is an Associate Professor in the Liberal Arts and Sciences department at the American University of Central Asia (AUCA). Emil combines architectural training and anthropology to study urban life through technical and ethnographic approaches. He co-founded the Social Innovations Lab Kyrgyzstan and is chief editor of Ketmen: International Journal for Central Asian Voices. His research focuses on migration, religion, and urbanism, including street youth culture, green spaces, and residential neighborhoods. Emil has received fellowships including a Fulbright Research Scholarship at George Washington University and is active in regional research centers.