Dr. Helga de Valk
Professor of Migration and the Lifecourse
University of Groningen
Director, Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI)

Brief summary of research over last 5 years / academic profile
Helga de Valk is director of the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI) and professor of Migration and the life course at Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. Her research focuses on migration patterns; the transition to adulthood of immigrant youth; union and family formation; the second generation; segregation; and European mobility. Her work has been highly influential in both science and policy. De Valk brought the family perspective to migration studies and vastly contributed to the academic debate with regards to the effects of migration on individual life courses as well as intergenerational solidarity and group cohesion. She has provided innovative insights into how to measure segregation in a meaningful way at different scales. De Valk was among the first to show how the wide diversity in migrant origins in the Netherlands and beyond will change the future demographic landscape. Her work has also pointed to the limited role of welfare state arrangements for migration decisions in Europe. Linking these scientific insights to policy debates to tackle issues at the policy level has been one of the main assets of her work. As an example, this is reflected by the fact that she is vice-chair of the State committee on the Dutch population 2050.

International visibility, activities, prizes, scholarships etc.
De Valk has acquired approximately 13M€ in research funding, and led a range of (inter)national projects. These include the Horizon2020 QUANTIMIG project on developing tools for migration policy, and the Norface-funded MobileWelfare project which she coordinated. She also received prestigious personal grants, such as the ongoing ERC CoG MYMOVE, which includes affiliated partners from 7 European countries, and the previous ERC StG FamilLife. Based on her excellent international profile, she won the 2016 European Demography Award and was elected president of the European Association for Population Studies (2020-2022). She has been editor-in-chief of the European Journal of Population. De Valk is on the scientific supervisory board of ODISSEI, the national research infrastructure for social sciences. She is an elected member of the Royal Dutch Society of Sciences (KHMW, 2023). De Valk serves on many advisory boards linking science to policy. For example, she participated in advisory meetings with the EU commissioner on demography and democracy, chaired the advisory board on the evaluation of migration policy for the Ministry of Justice, and was on the advisory board on the evaluation of integration law for the Ministry of Social Affairs. In 2022, she chaired the KNAW steering committee Recognition and Reward.

5 key output/publications
1. Arpino, B. & De Valk, H. 2018. Comparing Life Satisfaction of Immigrants and Natives Across Europe: The Role of Social Contacts. Soc Indic Res 137, 1163–1184.
2. Van Mol, C. & De Valk, H. 2016. Migration and immigrants in Europe: A historical and demographic perspective. In: Garcés-Mascareñas, B., Penninx, R. (Eds) Integration Processes and Policies in Europe. IMISCOE Research Series. Springer, Cham., p.31-55.
3. Wingens, M., Windzio, M., De Valk, H. & Aybek, C. 2012. A Life-Course Perspective on Migration and Integration. Eur J Population28, 113–114.
4. De Valk, H. & Schans, D. 2008. ‘They ought to do this for their parents’: Perceptions of filial obligations among immigrant and Dutch older people. Ageing & Society, 28(1): 49-66.
5. De Valk, H.A.G. & Liefbroer, A.C. 2007. Parental Influence On Union Formation Preferences Among Turkish, Moroccan, and Dutch Adolescents in the Netherlands. J. Cross-Cultural Psychol, 38(4), 487-505.

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