I'm a senior policy analyst for the Migration Advisory Committee, an independent body which provides immigration advice and recommendations to the UK Government. Many rural parts of the UK face a variety of demographic and economic challenges. One possible solution is to attract working-age migrants to these areas in order to sustain and grow rural communities.

Other countries face similar challenges and Canada is extremely active in this field by currently running a number of pilot visa programmes specifically aimed at halting and reversing rural decline. This Fellowship will allow me to examine their effectiveness and lessons learned at first hand, and assess whether similar schemes could be successfully implemented in the UK.

I'm motivated by my desire to see vibrant rural communities succeed and thrive, in addition to my professional interest in migration.