Hedayat Selim is a PhD candidate in psychology at Åbo Akademi University. Her main research interests lie in the intersection between investigative interviewing and asylum law. Her doctoral research investigates how asylum authorities assess the credibility of refugee claims based on religion and sexual orientation.
Since 2012, Hedayat has worked in the field of migration and displacement with several UN agencies, NGOs and academic institutions across Egypt, Italy and Finland. Her experience includes legal representation of asylum seekers, refugee status determination, and conducting training for policy-level actors involved in migratory affairs.
She holds a master’s degree in human rights studies from Columbia University (New York) and a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the American University in Cairo.