Hilkka Becker

An expert in migration and asylum law, Ms Becker has a distinguished career spanning over 25 years in leadership and management roles across private practice, NGOs, IGOs and the public sector.

Her past roles include over a decade as a senior solicitor in the Immigrant Council of Ireland’s independent law centre as well as regional legal advisor for the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

She also provided consultancy services to IOM offices in Western Balkan states and Azerbaijan, and worked as a solicitor in private practice and a legal officer with the Irish Refugee Council.

Beyond her legal practice, Ms Becker is an experienced trainer, public speaker and judicial trainer for the EU Asylum Agency (EUAA) and the Academy of European Law (ERA).

She is actively involved in the International Association of Refugee and Migration Judges (IARMJ), a board member of the Irish Centre for European Law (ICEL), a Fellow of McLaughlin College at York University in Toronto, and a member of both the justice and home affairs group and the Germany group of the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA).

Dr Fergus Ryan, head of the School of Law and Criminology, said: “We are incredibly fortunate to have someone of Ms Becker’s calibre joining us as an adjunct professor.

“Her expertise, leadership, and dedication to the fields of international protection and human rights law are inspiring, and we look forward to the many ways in which her appointment will enrich our research, teaching, and engagement initiatives.

“On behalf of the School, I wish to extend our warmest congratulations and deepest gratitude to Ms. Becker for taking up this role.”

As part of her new role, Ms Becker will join an upcoming workshop in Maynooth University on forced migration in January 2025 as a speaker and participant.