Doctoral Researchers › Business and Human Rights

Thi Minh Chau Bui

Ms Chau T.M. Bui earned her bachelor’s degree in International Relations at the Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In 2014, thanks to a DAAD full scholarship, she obtained a master’s degree in Development Management at Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany. Ms Bui has more than ten years of working experience in the fields of international development cooperation and non- profit governance as project manager, communication/Public Relations manager, and event manager for various German and international organisations. She is currently a PhD Candidate of the International Doctorate Programme – Business and Human Rights: Governance Challenges in a Complex World at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU). Her doctoral research focuses on the cooperation between the business and civil-society sectors in Vietnam toward achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) and promoting human rights through corporate social responsibility (CSR) practice.

Bantayehu Demlie Gezahegn

Bantayehu Demlie holds LL.M. in International Law (with specialisations in International Business Law and Human Rights Law) from American University Washington College of Law, and bachelor’s degrees in Law and in Psychology from Addis Ababa University.
Before joining this programme, Bantayehu was a Senior Humanitarian Programme Manager at Irish Aid in Ethiopia. Prior to that, he was a Local Political Officer at the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Addis Ababa and a Protection Associate at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
As an Adjunct Lecturer at Addis Ababa University School of Law, he has taught courses such as Refugee Law, Human Rights Law, and Electoral Law.
Bantayehu’s doctoral research focuses on maximising the role of the evolving business and human rights framework in operationalising the right to development in the context of forced displacement and migration.

Otgontuya Davaanyam

Otgontuya Davaanyam is a lawyer from Mongolia. She holds an LLM in International Human Rights Law from the University of Liverpool and an MA in Global Challenges: Law and Policy from Swansea University in the United Kingdom. She also holds an LLB Degree from the Shihihutug University in Mongolia. She is currently pursuing her PhD studies at the Friedrich Alexander Erlangen-Nuremberg University and her PhD focuses on corporate human rights responsibility under the OECD NCP case law analysis. Otgontuya is a former member of the Mongolian Bar Association and she previously worked as an Attorney for Anderson and Anderson LLP, an international law firm in Mongolia and as a Human Rights Consultant for UNDP Mongolia, Business and Human Rights Project (the Project for developing the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights in cooperation with Mongolian Government).

She has extensive internship experience in different human rights organisations, including Fifty Eight, Business and Human Rights Resource Centre and the Business and Human Rights Unit of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Mirka Fries

Mirka Fries studied German and International Law (LL.B.) in Münster and Potsdam (Germany), as well as international criminal law and human rights law (LL.M.) at the University of Amsterdam and Columbia Law School, New York. She gained first professional experience at the International Criminal Court and with human rights NGOs focusing on children’s rights and working with victims of sexual violence and refugees. After finishing her degrees, Mirka participated in the Mercator Fellowship on International Affairs. During the year of her Fellowship, she worked on legal and political questions arising in the context of the recruitment and use of child soldiers, i.a. in Uganda. In 2018, Mirka joined the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, where she worked as a Bertha Fellow in the organization’s Business and Human Rights and International Crimes and Accountability departments. She finished her placement in 2020 to return to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, where she supported the team prosecuting Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman.

Eva Gengler

Eva Gengler focusses with her doctoral research “Human Rights in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: A Study of Gender Equality in a Complex World” on a multilevel approach to develop an AI without the discrimination against women. She is part of the International Doctorate Programme: Business and Human Rights and will research at the Schöller Endowed Chair for Information Systems of the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg under Professor Laumer. Eva is active in projects concerning women and their status in society in general and with focus on artificial intelligence specifically. Recently, she has been leading a business unit at a tech company in the insurance industry and was part of the product management in a major project at the customer site. After her Master of Science studies in International Information Systems at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg and at the Indian Institute of Management Udaipur, she started her professional career at a management IT consultancy. She holds a bachelor’s degree is in Business Administration. Besides, Eva is a passionate artist and started her own art business “Flavours of Colour” in 2019.

Kania Mezariani Guzaimi

Kania Mezariani Guzaimi studied Political Science at the University of Andalas, West Sumatera, Indonesia as her bachelor’s degree. She worked more than five years at the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM) focusing on business and human rights. She was involved in mainstreaming business and human rights issues to multi-stakeholders, including the government, private sector, academia, and other civil societ organizations in Indonesia. She received a scholarship for her master’s degree in International Relations at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom. She had an internship in the forest team, at Greenpeac International, London; where she monitored Indonesia’s policies related to palm oil and peatland. Before joining this program, she was a part-time lecturer and researcher at the ASEAN Study Center of the Islamic State University Fatmawati-Sukarno, Bengkulu, Indonesia. She is interested in climate change politics and the politics of human rights.

Klemens Hering

Klemens Hering is currently working as research associate at the chair for Corporate Sustainability Management at Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. Holding a B.A. degree in Nonprofit-, Social- and Healthcare Management and an interdisciplinary M.A. degree in Philosophy, Business and Law, his research focuses on the sourcing tier of global value chains and how protection of human rights can be realised at grass root level. Other than the academic experience, he has gained practical insights through internships at the German Federal Foreign Office (Berlin, Geneva), international child-protection agencies and voluntary services in Bolivia and the German Armed Forces.

Xu Kang

Xu Kang is a sociologist who received education in Mainland China, Taiwan, Macau, and Sweden. He obtained a Master degree in Sociology from Lund University in 2021 and another Master degree in Criminology from the University of Macau in 2019. His research interest is mainly within the field of sociology of work and organisation and its intersection with politics, especially in the context of China and East Asia. His doctoral research is on the subject of „Achieving a global CSR in human rights or vice versa: A study on cooperation and conflicts between China and Europe in the human rights dimension of CSR“.

Jakob Friedrich Nehls

Jakob Nehls (he/him) holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography from the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen and a master’s degree in Human Rights and Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). During his studies, an ASA project took him to Cameroon, where he worked on environmental protection and climate change adaptation. In the context of a research stay in Indonesia, he investigated the socio-political impacts of environmentally-induced migration. After completing his studies, he gained further experience in the realm of climate-induced migration at the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ). Jakob has been engaged in different organisations and movements concerned with human rights and intergenerational justice. At Amnesty International in Germany, he has been active in various committees and, in this context, helped to build up the organization’s climate-related human rights work. As a doctoral researcher his work is focused on the interface between the climate crisis, human rights, and businesses. Under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Heiner Bielefeldt and Prof. Dr. Markus Krajewski, he investigates possible paradigm shifts in the human rights discourse in the context of the climate crisis.

Nelson Otieno

Nelson Otieno studied law for his Bachelors degree and graduated with a first class LL.B from Kenyatta University School of Law in Nairobi, Kenya. Nelson also pursued a Certificate in Leadership Development and Mentorship in Kenyatta University. He also pursued Masters of Law at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania as a Tanzanian-German Center for East African Legal Studies (TGCL) scholar. His research and publication interests are in regional integration, cybersecurity, ICT, and human rights. Nelson practiced as a litigation and compliance lawyer in Kenya for about two years before joining the programme. He currently works as a Doctoral Researcher in the International Doctorate Programme: Business and Human Rights under Professor Markus Krajewski at Friedrich Alexander University, Erlangen, Germany. The topic of his doctoral research is „Role of data impact assessment in sustaining the right to privacy in e-commerce: study of legal and policy approaches in EU, South Africa and Kenya

Sabrina Rau

Sabrina Rau is a doctoral researcher at the Friedrich Alexander University focusing on the intersection of business, human rights, and technology. She is additionally a Senior Research Officer in the Human Rights, Big Data and Technology (HRBDT) project based at the University of Essex. Her research focuses primarily on rights, regulation and remedies and the role of business in the digital age. Sabrina holds an Honours BA from the University of Toronto in political science and environmental studies and an LLM in international human rights and humanitarian law from the University of Essex.

Stephanie Regalia

Stephanie Regalia studied English law and French law at King’s College London and Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne for her bachelor’s degree. She completed a dual master’s degree in Energy & Environment at Sciences Po and Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, where she was the project manager of the 2017-2018 Business & Human Rights Clinic. Prior to joining the International Doctorate Programme: Business and Human Rights at FAU, Stephanie worked in the human rights non-profit sector and trained as a lawyer in France. The focus of her doctoral research is effectiveness in mandatory human rights due diligence frameworks.

Bruna Singh

Bruna Singh has a bachelor’s degree in law from the University Centre Curitiba (Brazil, 2015), and a master’s degree in human Rights and International Politics from the University of Glasgow (the UK, 2018), where she attended as a Chevening scholar. She has professional and academic experience in migration, the inter-American human rights system, women’s rights, and business & human rights. Before joining the International Doctorate Program- Business and Human Rights: Governance Challenges in a Complex World, Bruna worked for a Business & Human Rights and ESG consultancy in Brazil, with projects involving mining and agricultural companies. Currently, she is a doctoral researcher at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg and her research focuses on „leverage“ in the business and human rights framework.

Supriya Singh

Supriya Singh has spent the last 16 years at the confluence of business, civil society and academia. She was the Global Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Tata Communications, which is a part of the Tata Group one of the 100 most valuable brands in the world. She specializes in CSR strategy, large scale sustainability programs through multi-stakeholder partnerships and deploying digital technology especially for the advancement of young girls and women. Prior to joining Tata Communications, Supriya has worked with organisations like The Energy and Resources Institute, Going to School, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies as well as consulted for UN agencies. She is an alumni of Sir Robert Swan’s 2041International Antarctic Expedition. Supriya holds MPhil and MA degrees in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and a Diploma in Sustainable Business Management from the Swedish Institute. Supriya is currently on an academic sojourn and is part of the International Doctorate Programme in Business and Human Rights. She will be working at the Chair for Sustainability Management under the supervision of Prof. Markus Beckmann. Her research is on the ‚Multi-Stakeholder Partnership in Business-Society Relationship: Understanding its role, learning processes and potential to advance ethics and human rights‘ .

Loren Bustos

Loren Bustos is a PhD student and a DAAD scholarship recipient at the Friedrich-Alexander University (FAU). Her research project focuses on strengthening the EU-ASEAN relations by safeguarding Human Rights in their economic cooperation. She earned her master’s degree in International Relations with business and legal aspects from the University of Szeged, Hungary and was a Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship holder. For her undergraduate, she finished Bachelor’s degree in International Studies with a major in European Studies from De La Salle University in Manila, Philippines. As an International Relations professional, she specialize in the subject areas of international and diplomatic affairs, global politics, and human rights. Moreover, Loren has demonstrated meaningful years of work experience in research, intercultural relations, and engagements with non-profit organizations.

Shuvra Dey

Shuvra Dey studied law at Stamford University Bangladesh and received his LL.M. degree from South Asian University, New Delhi, where he majored in public international law. He also holds a master’s degree in Human Rights from the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg.
Recently, he completed Critical Legal Training from the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), where he worked with the ECCHR’s Business and Human Rights team. Prior to that, he worked for the department of law & human rights of RPSU, Bangladesh, and the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO).

Matthias Fertig

Matthias Fertig studied Philosophy & Economics at the University of Mannheim and graduated in Sustainability Management at Ulm University, Germany.
Matthias is working in the sustainability department of a large automotive and industrial supplier. Independently from his job, Matthias is currently pursuing a PhD under Markus Beckmann at the Friedrich-Alexander-University, Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. His research interest is on the strategic responses and actions of companies in the context of complex institutional pressures on sustainability related topics. In the International Doctorate Programme: Business and Human Rights, Matthias focuses is on the strategic adaptation of companies to multiple regulatory approaches on business and human rights (e.g. German Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains, UK Modern Slavery Act) and how companies collaborate with initiatives, NGOs and other companies to shape the governance structures for human rights due diligence in supply networks.

Marie-Sophie Keller

Marie-Sophie Keller studied in the Netherlands, receiving her Bachelors in International and European law from the University of Groningen and her L.L.M. in European Law from Leiden University. After her Blue Book Traineeship at the European Commission (DG Comp), she spent a year in Chennai, India, working with a local NGO for environmental protection and community empowerment. Her involvement in the struggle to hold Unilever accountable for devastating mercury pollution and the systematic undermining of worker’s rights with lethal consequences marked the beginning of her continued engagement in the field of business and human rights. After her return to Germany, she worked for the international NGO network “International Civil Society Centre” and became an active member of attac, a network for global justice. In the past legislative period of the German Bundestag, she assisted the left parliamentarian Michel Brandt with his work in the parliamentary Human Rights Commission and, as such, was closely involved in the process regarding the Geman due diligence law and the UN-Treaty on Business and Human Rights. Her PhD thesis focuses on the gender aspects relating to an international due diligence regulation.

Anna Simon

Anna Simon studied law at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg and passed the second state examination in 2020. She is currently working as research assistant at the chair of professor Eva-Maria Kieninger for German and European Private Law, Private International Law at the University of Würzburg. She is writing her doctoral thesis on the topic of “Corporate Climate Liability”.

Eklavya Vasudev

Eklavya studied political science and later law from the University of Delhi. He then read for his LLM at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington DC, USA enabled through the Georgetown Law Merit scholarship.
His LLM was focused on International Environment and Health Law. Eklavya has over 7 years of work experience in India and the USA. In the US, Eklavya worked as a Graduate research associate at the O’Neill Institute for Global Health Law and was a law clerk at the American Bar Association. In India, Eklavya worked for Lawyers Collective, a social enterprise law firm on issues of sexual harassment at the workplace and domestic violence. He then clerked with Justice S. Muralidhar at the High Court of Delhi where his work comprised of working on criminal law and the death penalty. Eklavya has also worked as counsel in the chambers of former Solicitor General of India, Gopal Subramanium. His last professional engagement before joining FAU was with the Indian Institute for Human Settlements where he worked as a Senior associate-legal on issues of Urban Law. Eklavya is the co-founder of Neev foundation, a public charitable trust which provides free legal aid to the lesser privileged in the Delhi-NCR area in India. For the past year, he has been in Prof. Anuscheh Farahat’s team at FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg for his doctorate in law through a scholarship from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. Eklavya’s research interests are in the are of Constitutional law and climate litigation. His proposed doctoral thesis is on the same lines.