Personal Profile
Heidi is a 3rd year PGR student at Royal Holloway, University of London specialising in terrorism studies. Her main areas of interest are deradicalisation and disengagement of extremists. Her research focuses on impact assessment of the methods used in voluntary-based deradicalisation and disengagement programmes in Europe and Northern America. She obtained her MA from University of Tartu where she researched methods that support deradicalisation and disengagement of Islamists in Europe.
Heidi has teaching experience in general education and higher education. At Royal Holloway, her responsibilities included sociology of religion. Currently she is an associate lecturer at Birkbeck, University of London where she is teaching a module focusing on ‘Surveillance, Intelligence, and Control’. Previously she as also been a member of departmental research ethics committee at Royal Holloway.
She has work experience from public and third sector as a team member and project manager. In 2017, she worked at Estonian Ministry of the Interior as the coordinator of the asylum team during Estonian presidency of the European Union Council. At the moment, she is the head of communication at University of Tartu Asia Centre and the leader of international project “Tackling Sensitive Topics in a Classroom” funded by Erasmus+.
Research
- PhD Working Title: However you feed a wolf she will always look toward the forest? Assessing the impact of measures meant to support de-radicalisation and disengagement
- PhD Supervisors: Dr. John Morrison, Dr. Anthony Richards, and Elo Suld (University of Tartu)
There are numerous initiatives and programmes that support deradicalisation and disengagement of extremists. For instance, the number of active deradicalisation programmes worldwide is between 40-50. Due to rapid need for such initiatives in recent years, practitioners and states have been and still are in a position where they need to set and adapt their programmes and interventions without knowing whether their strategy and methods are working or not. Furthermore, due to lack of data, time and analyses, there is no established certainty on the ‘right’ or ‘most suitable’ methodology for such programmes that is supported by clear and transparent evidence in the research community.
Considering the growing need for insight and the procurement of answers to practitioners, policy-makers as well as researchers, advancements in the discipline are greatly needed. This study is searching for the answer to the following question – what measures (methods, activities) have the most impact to support an extremist in one’s deradicalisation and/or disengagement process(es) and why?
The answers to the following question might not only provide an overview of methodological solutions currently used in countries and organisations included to the study, but also outline the causes why specific approaches have been chosen and why they have been put to practice. Furthermore, they help to comprehend and illustrate the circumstances connected to the local context, such as reasons of involvement, supported ideology and shared narratives. Also, the attitude and role of funders and facilitators towards the participants.
Qualifications
- MA in religious studies (University of Tartu)
- BA in religious studies (University of Tartu)
Professional Experience
- Associate lecturer, Birkbeck University of London (2021-..)
- Member of RTV dataset international expert network, Oslo University (2020-..)
- Project Manager, “Tackling Sensitive Topics in a Classroom”, University of Tartu (2020-..)
- Head Research Assistant, “Disengagement and Desistance: A Systematic Review”, Royal Holloway, University of London (2020)
- Member of Departmental Research Ethics Committee, Royal Holloway, University of London (2020)
- Head of Communication, University of Tartu Asia Centre, (2019-..)
Languages
- Estonian (native speaker)
- English (fluent)
- Russian (elementary)
- French (elementary)
- Greek (elementary)
Awards
- Kristjan Jaak Scholarship, Estonian Education and Youth Board, 2020
- Research and Development Scholarship, Estonian Police and Border Guard Board, 2018, 2019
- Agnes Kultas’ Scholarship, The Estonian National Culture Foundation, 2019
Contact Details