Ashika Niraula

Senior Research Associate

EducationPhD, Aarhus University; MPhil, University of Bergen; MA, Tribhuvan University

Areas of ExpertiseMigration flows and decision making; Migrant integration and settlement; Migrant health and wellbeing; Highly skilled migration; international student mobility; development and inclusion; project management

ashika.niraula@torontomu.ca

With over 15 years of expertise as a researcher and a development practitioner, Ashika Niraula has expertise in the issues related to migration, development and inclusion. She has an interdisciplinary background, with research interests in global migration flows, decision-making processes related to migration and the experiences of migrant integration and settlement. She focuses on topics, such as drivers of migration, migrant agency, labour market transitions, deskilling, health inequalities, migrant well-being, migrant networks and legal and social disparities in host countries, such as Canada and Denmark.

Ashika is currently working at the CERC Migration and Integration program as the Project Lead for the Skilled Migrant Decision-Making Under Uncertainty (DEMA) project, funded by Insight Grant, Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Canada [funding amount $270,000]. DEMA project examines the drivers of international highly skilled migration and how English-speaking and French-speaking highly skilled migrants and international students immigrating to Canada navigate uncertainty and risk, especially in the context of the global pandemic.

Additionally, Ashika works as the Project Co-ordinator for the Complex Migration Flows and Multiple Drivers in Comparative Perspective (MEMO), a multidisciplinary research project that examines internal, regional, and global migration patterns across South Asia, the Americas, West Africa, and North America. The MEMO project is funded by the Partnership Grant, SSHRC [funding amount $2.5 million]. Furthermore, Ashika is a Research Affiliate in the Migrant Integration in the Mid-21st Century: Bridging Divides project funded by the Government of Canada through the Canada First Research Excellence Fund [funding amount $98.6 million]. She is also a collaborator for the Decentering Migration Knowledge (DemiKnow) Project, funded by a partnership development grant, SSHRC.

Ashika is also affiliated with the Faculty of Arts Dimensions Team, where she serves as a Post-doctoral team member, contributing to research and events focused on understanding equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility barriers for students and faculty in scholarly, research, and creative activities. She also contributed to the formulation of the TMU Strategic Research Plan 2025-2030 as a Steering Committee Member, guiding the University’s key research themes to reflect diverse scholarly, research, and creative activities.

Previously, Ashika worked a Postdoctoral Fellow in an interdisciplinary project on immigrant settlement and social determinants of health in rural Canada at the University of Toronto Mississauga. As a Research Associate, she was also involved in a project on Indian female migrants in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic at the University of Guelph. Ashika also taught as a sessional lecturer at the University of Toronto Mississauga, Canada (Migration and Health course), and at Aarhus University, Denmark (Anthropology of Education and Globalization course).

Recent Publications

With Rishworth, A., Cao, T., & Wilson K. (2023). Navigating the quality-of-life impacts of a chronic inflammatory disease among South Asian children and parents (external link) . Social Science and Medicine, 326, 1-10.

With Biswas, U. N., Leach, B., & Jijina, P. (2023). Lived experiences of skilled Indian women immigrants (SIWI) navigating the COVID-19 pandemic: Immigration trajectories to Canada (external link) . Journal of International Migration and Integration, 1-25.

With Kelly, M. (2023). Mobilizing to support those most in need: the importance of diasporic social capital during the COVID-19 pandemic. (external link) South Asian Diaspora, 15(2) 1-17.

With Ratti, N., Colley, M., Rosenberg, M., Ghassemi, E., & Wilson, K. (2023). Negotiating precarity: Recent immigrants’ perceptions of waiting for public healthcare in Ontario, Canada. (external link) Health Policy.

With Castaneda, R. A. (2023) The cost of mobility: International Students in the Tertiary Level. (external link) IOM Migration Policy Practice.

With Rishworth, A., Cao, T., & Wilson, K. (2022). Health Care Use and Barriers to Care for Chronic Inflammatory Diseases (CID) among First and Second Generation South Asian Immigrant Children and Parents in Ontario Canada. (external link) International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(21), 14608.

With Rishworth, A., Dean, J., Wilson, K., Ghassemi, E., & Baldo, A. (2022). Rural futures? Mapping newcomers' hopes about potential resettlement in Canadian rural areas (external link) . The Canadian Geographer/Le Géographe canadien.

With Triandafyllidou, A., & Akbar, M. (2022). Navigating Uncertainties: Evaluating the Shift of Canadian Immigration Policies during the COVID-19 Pandemic. (external link, opens in new window) Canadian Public Policy.

With Triandafyllidou, A. (2022). (PDF file) Highly Skilled Migrant Decision-Making under Uncertainty: A literature review.

With Rishworth, A, Cao, T., Lay, J. C., Ferrari, J., Zaman, S., & Wilson, K. (2022). Knowledge, risk perceptions and practices surrounding chronic inflammatory diseases among first and second generation South Asian immigrants parents and children (external link) . International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, 18(2), 139-152.

With Valentin, K. (2019). Mobile brains and the question of ‘deskilling’. (external link) Nordic Journal of Migration Research, 9(1), 19-35.

Policy Papers and Working Papers

With Castaneda, R. A. (2023) The cost of mobility: International Students in the Tertiary Level (external link) . IOM Migration Policy Practice.

With Triandafyllidou, A. (2022). (PDF file) Highly Skilled Migrant Decision-Making under Uncertainty: A literature review. Working Paper Series Ryerson Centre for Immigration and Settlement (RCIS) and the CERC in Migration and Integration, 2022/9.

Reports and Opeds

With Leach, B., Biswas, N., U., and Jijina, P. (2024). Navigating uncharted trajectories: Skilled Indian women migrating to Canada. In India migration report 2024: Student migration. I. Rajan (ed.). Routledge https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003499787 (external link)

With Castaneda, R., and Triandafyllidou, A. (2023). Complex Pathways of Indian Highly Skilled Migrants and International Students to Canada. In India Migration Report 2023: Student Migration. I. Rajan (ed). London and New Delhi: Routledge https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003490234 (external link)

With Castaneda, R. A. (2022, Nov. 29). The pandemic created challenges and opportunities for Canadian immigration. (external link) The Conversation.

With Dean, J., Baldo, A., Wilson, K. (2021). Attracting and retaining migrants in rural Ontario: Survey report on the preparedness of small towns and rural areas to support the integration of immigrants. University of Toronto Mississauga & University of Waterloo.

Blogs

(2022). Engaging with Different Ethical Regimes.

Media

2024. January 30. Minu Mathew, “Family of international student who succumbed to cancer says hospital delayed too long to act on test results. (external link) ” New Canadian Media.

2023. November 24. Surbhi Bir, “The impact of diaspora support in a time of crisis.” TorontoMet Today.

2023. October 18. Kaitlyn Smith, “Canada’s diaspora filled gap in response to COVID crisis: Report. (external link) ” New Canadian Media.

2023. September 23. “Q&A with the authors of Mobilizing to support those most in need:the importance of diasporic social capital during the COVID-19 pandemic”. CERC Migration and Integration Newsletter.