ASIA CENTRE'S 2021 INTERNS
Nilay Gençer
Nilay Gençer is a research intern at the Asia Centre from October 2021 to January 2022. She is from Turkey and holds an MS degree in Political Science and International Relations from Middle East Technical University, Northern Cyprus Campus.
Nilay's research interests are human rights, humanitarian intervention, and Responsibility to Protect. After writing her thesis on the Sri Lankan civil war, she became eager to learn more about the politics of Asia.
During her internship at the Asia Centre, Nilay aims to grasp current human rights issues in Southeast Asia and improve her research and communication skills before enrolling in the Political Science PhD program at the University of Alabama in January 2022. She looks forward to being part of Asia Centre’s work to create social impact in the region. In her free time, Nilay enjoys reading books, watching documentaries, and writing non-fiction stories.
Veronica Burgstaller
Veronica holds a BA in International Studies from Leiden University, in the Netherlands, where she specialized in the region East Asia with Chinese language and an MA from KU Leuven in European Studies with a major in Europe-Asia relations.
As half Austrian and half Indonesian, she has travelled and lived since her childhood in several European and Asian countries. Her main interests are migration, human rights, and culture in Southeast- and East Asia. She also completed an exchange year at Sungkyungkwan University in Seoul, Korea during which she received intensive Korean language classes.
She would like to pursue a career in research and is very much looking forward to the work she will be doing on human rights and social impact at Asia Centre. Veronica is multilingual in German, English, French, Korean and knows a bit of Chinese and Indonesia. In her spare time, she enjoys learning languages, travelling, playing the piano and practicing Taekwondo.
Lise Brument
Lise Brument is a Communications intern at Asia Centre from July to December 2021. She is a second-year Master student in Human Rights and Humanitarian Action in Paris, France.
Although she is French and grew up in France, she has had some volunteering experience in Thailand as an English teacher for XLC, an institute of higher education dedicated to ethnic minorities and based in Chiang Rai province. During her internship at Asia Centre, she will be involved in creating digital content to promote Asia Centre’s research and events. She has created and managed a newsletter for an association she founded with friends to increase awareness of the visually impaired and looks forward to developing her skills and putting them to the service at Asia Centre.
Lise is interested in human rights and social issues and would love to work in Southeast Asia after her studies. In her free time, she enjoys reading, listening to music, and singing. When she is neither at home nor at work, she is exploring new landscapes and cultural landmarks.
Ayman Ragab
Originally based at Institut libre d'étude des relations internationals (ILERI), France, Ayman Ragab is a French exchange student spending a semester at the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Thammasat University in 2020 – 2021.
He is a research intern at Asia Centre from April to August 2021 as he would like to sharpen his skills in writing and research, before embarking on a master degree programme.
Ayman enjoys backpacking and traveling around the world. He also likes to swim, reading and party with friends in his free time.
Amanda Yap Shi Min
Amanda Yap is a research intern at Asia Centre from May to August 2020. She is from Singapore, and is currently an undergraduate at the National University of Singapore, majoring in economics and minoring in global studies.
During her time at Asia Centre, Amanda looks forward to improving her skills in research synthesis and academic writing. Crucially, she aspires to learn more about the impact that COVID-19 has on democracy and human rights in the Southeast Asian region, simultaneously gaining and enriching her work experience.
In her spare time, you will find Amanda at the piano playing tunes ranging from the 70s to contemporary times. Alternatively, she will be exploring Singapore’s hiking trails, snapping random shots of greenery, sunrises, and anything in between.
Roshni Sharma
Roshni Sharma is a research intern at Asia Centre from May 2021 to August 2021. She is from Singapore and is currently studying political science and economics at the National University of Singapore. During her internship, Roshni will be focusing on the freedom of religious belief and freedom of expression in the region.
Roshni’s passion in human rights stems from her engagements with migrant worker communities in Singapore, and she is excited to continue learning about human rights issues within Southeast Asia during her time in Asia Centre. She also looks forward to improving her research, communication and academic writing skills, and hopes to better understand the way such non-profit organisations collaborate with other state and non-state actors to create social impact in the region.
Roshni loves getting to know people from different backgrounds and engaging with them on different topics and social issues, to better understand various perspectives and learn from them. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking with her friends and exploring new trails, and watching crime documentaries.
Rory McAfee
Rory McAfee is a British research intern at Asia Centre. He is studying International Business Management at Oxford Brookes University and having an exchange semester with Mahidol University International College.
Previously, Rory has lived in a number of different countries such as Germany, the U.S.A., Australia, and the U.K. This has enabled him to adapt quickly to any new environment. He decided that South-East Asia, and Thailand in particular, was a region of the world that he wanted to spend more time in when travelling there after finishing school.
Due to his multicultural background and reading hobby, he has developed a strong passion and interest in advocating freedom of political expression and human rights. Rory is keen to improve his writing and research skills from his time at Asia Centre and gain experience in order to pursue a Master’s degree in International Politics. He enjoys travelling and photography and has done a large amount of both during his time in Thailand thus far.