ZuKo Connect Fellows

In cooperation with the Zukunftskolleg of the University of Konstanz, we are supporting three young researchers from Africa, Asia and Latin America as part of the Zuko Connect Fellowship. During their time in Konstanz, they are supervised by our professors and are part of the cluster community as associated members.

Cinthia Sayuri Misaka

Cinthia is a doctoral fellow from the Department of Linguistics and a ZUKOnnect Fellow, joining the cluster to collaborate with Principal Investigator Theo Marinis. Her research focuses on a cross-linguistic study of language processing in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), investigating how these children understand and produce syntactically complex language in Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, English, and German.

Through a critical bibliographic review, Cinthia aims to identify which language structures children with ASD can comprehend but struggle to produce, contributing valuable insights to the understanding of language acquisition in ASD across different linguistic contexts. Her work as a ZUKOnnect Fellow underscores her commitment to fostering intercontinental dialogue in research, enhancing the cluster's cultural and academic diversity.

You can learn more about Cinthia here.

Haoyu Zhao

Haoyu Zhao is a doctoral fellow affiliated with the Department of History and Sociology and a ZUKOnnect Fellow. She will collaborate with Principal Investigator Susanne Strauss on her research project examining the housing strategies, living arrangements, and intra-family politics of migrant families in a small Chinese city.

Through a multi-sited ethnography, Haoyu's research investigates how the housing decisions of migrant families shape and are shaped by their internal family dynamics. Her work as a ZUKOnnect Fellow underscores her commitment to fostering intercontinental dialogue in research and enhancing the cultural diversity within the cluster.

You can learn more about Haoyu here.

Pihal Deepak is a doctoral fellow affiliated with the Department of Politics and Public Administration and a ZUKOnnect Fellow. He will collaborate with Principal Investigator Anke Hoeffler on his research project, which investigates obstetric violence and its impact on maternal mental health and birth outcomes in rural Jharkhand, India.

His study aims to highlight the prevalence of obstetric violence and its effects on women's health, employing a community-based longitudinal approach. As a ZUKOnnect Fellow, Pihal is dedicated to advancing research in this critical area and fostering collaboration within the cluster.

You can learn more about Pihal here.