Interdisciplinary Migration Research Unit - IMRU

Year of establishment: 2025

The Interdisciplinary Migration Research Unit (IMRU) was established at EKKE in 2025 and serves as a national hub for interdisciplinary migration research in Greece.

Migration is one of the most defining and dividing issues of our time. Public and policy debate around it has grown increasingly polarised, dominated by security narratives, and disconnected from solid evidence. At the same time, academic research remains fragmented within disciplinary silos. IMRU was established to address these challenges, bringing together scholars from sociology, political science, social anthropology, geography, economics, law, international relations, and beyond, and producing rigorous, evidence-based knowledge for media, policy, and public debate.

Core activities

•    Regular interdisciplinary conferences on migration
•    Peer-reviewed, open-access edited volumes published through EKKE
•    A blog series featuring accessible, research-informed writing on migration and refugee issues

Governance

IMRU is governed by a three-member Scientific Committee composed of EKKE researchers, with strategic guidance provided by an Advisory Board of migration experts.

Coordinator

Angelo Tramountanis is an Applied Researcher (Grade B) at the National Centre for Social Research (EKKE) and coordinator of IMRU. He teaches the core course "Forced Migration" in the MSc programme "Media and Refugee / Migration Flow" at the University of Athens, and serves as an evaluator for the AMIF (Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund). His research focuses on migration and refugee policy, the politicisation and securitisation of migration, and the impact of science and technology on migration and border governance.

Scientific Committee Members

Georgios Kandylis, Research Director, Institute of Social Research, EKKE
Stavros – Nikiforos Spyrellis, Senior Researcher, Institute of Social Research, EKKE

Advisory Board

Angeliki Dimitriadi, Resident Faculty, College Year in Athens
Eva Papatzani, Postdoctoral Researcher, EKKE
Iris Polyzou, Researcher, École française d'Athènes
Dimitris Skleparis, Senior Lecturer in the Politics of Security, Newcastle University

Online presence and contact

Website: https://imru.ekke.gr 
Email: imru@ekke.gr 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/imru.ekke 
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/imru-ekke