Setargie Admassu, Mesfin

Mesfin Setargie Admassu is a research intern at UNU-CRIS. Under the supervision of Ine Lietaert in the Migration and Social Policy Cluster, he will be contributing to a study that aims at exploring the position and role of Social Work with vulnerable groups in Ethiopia. In collaboration with other members of the research team, Mesfin intends to assess the history, current focus, challenges, influences, understanding of the discipline, and contribution of social work. He will strive to understand the role of social work in (forced) migration and its level of engagement with national, regional, and international actors. To that end, he will be tasked with document analyses and expert interviews.

Mesfin is currently a postgraduate student of Migration and Refugees in Action at Howest, Belgium. He also holds a master’s degree in Cultural Anthropology and Development Studies from KU Leuven and a second master’s degree in Sociology from the University of Gondar. In his masters' theses, Mesfin tried to understand and examine the nature and implications of development imaginaries with regard to mega-infrastructure projects, and the role of social capital on environment conservation in Ethiopia, respectively.  

Previously, he worked as a lecturer at two Ethiopian public universities, namely Debre Berhan and Samara Universities. He has also been involved in a couple of researches as principal investigator, co-researcher, and data collector. In addition to his academic career, Mesfin participated in various community service activities while he was in Ethiopia. Poverty, migration, environment, social capital, development imaginaries, and social work are among his research areas of interest.