Tuba Bircan

About

Data, people, and the stories in between

An interdisciplinary researcher and mentor, driven by a love for data and a choice to be a social scientist. A proud migrant who has lived and worked in Turkey, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK.

Portrait of Tuba Bircan
  • Senior Quantitative Social ScientistWellcome Connecting Science and the Kavli Centre for Ethics, Science, and the Public (a joint initiative of WCS and the University of Cambridge)
  • Associate Professor of SociologyDepartment of Sociology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, where I lead the AI, Migration and Society (AIMS) Lab
  • Senior Research AssociateHIVA – Research Institute for Work and Society, KU Leuven

I have also served as an external expert for the European Commission and for Belgian, French and Polish funding institutes, and held advisory roles at numerous national and international institutions.

My scholarly interests span the socio-political impact of new technologies, ethical and trustworthy AI, and the use and governance of big data and AI for global challenges, as well as diversity, migration, gender, inequalities, equal opportunities, and social and public policy.

My collaborations cross data science, computer science, economics, media studies, anthropology, political science, geography and educational science. I work closely with colleagues in industry, civil society and public authorities.

With over 15 years of experience in quantitative and mixed methods, I have seen first-hand how empirical research can support policymaking. I am a firm believer in open science and in science for society.

I received my BSc in Statistics from the Middle East Technical University (METU), Turkey, and completed an MSc in Statistics and a PhD in Social and Political Sciences at KU Leuven, Belgium. Since April 2019 I have been based at Interface Demography, VUB.

Along the way I worked as a statistical analyst and researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Germany; as a PhD fellow at the Centre for Political Research and a postdoctoral researcher at the Research Centre of Public Economics, KU Leuven; as an assistant professor at Okan University and a lecturer and senior researcher at Bahçeşehir University, Turkey; as a senior researcher at HIVA, KU Leuven; and as research coordinator of Interface Demography at VUB.

I was a visiting scholar at the Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge (March–August 2021), and at the Social and Affective Computing Group, Utrecht University (October 2020 – January 2021).

I have always loved small cities, and I am fascinated by people’s stories, so I listen and observe. I believe everybody should have equal opportunities and access to their rights, and I do my best at every chance to fight inequality.

I am a mother of two amazing boys who brag about their mom being a scientist. My biggest challenge is raising them as fair and caring human beings.