Federal Ministry of the Interior Appoints Professor Irena Kogan to Expert Council on Integration and Migration

Press release from 1 April 2026
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 Mannheim sociologist Professor Irena Kogan has been a member of the German Expert Council on Integration and Migration (SVR) since 1 April 2026. Since 2009, Kogan has held the professorship of Sociology, Societal Comparisons at the School of Social Sciences at the University of Mannheim. Her research focuses on ethnic and social inequality, migration and integration of immigrants, and transitions during adolescence. She mainly conducts comparative studies based on quantitative methods of social research and data analysis. From 2020 to 2023, Irena Kogan was the director of the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES), where she has been a researcher for many years and is currently, among other things, heading the project “Partnership Formation in the Context of Recent Refugee Migration” (PARFORM), which is funded by the European Research Council (ERC). In summer 2026, Kogan will receive the Landesforschungspreis Baden-Württemberg for her basic research on educational and career opportunities for immigrants.

Researcher with excellent qualifications and a good international network
“With Irena Kogan, a researcher with excellent qualifications in her field and a good international network joins the SVR. Her expertise will be of great value to the expert council,” says Professor Winfried Kluth, chairperson of the expert council. The appointment by the Federal Ministry of the Interior was based on the vote of an independent selection committee. Irena Kogan succeeds Professor Matthias Koenig, who passed away in January following a serious illness. 

“As a member of the expert council, I see it as my task to contribute scientific findings from empirical research to political and social processes in Germany. I am happy to take on this important task and delighted by the appointment,” Irena Kogan states.

About the expert council
The Expert Council on Integration and Migration is an independent, interdisciplinary body providing research-based policy advice. Its reports are intended to assist the bodies responsible for integration and migration policy as well as the general public in forming their opinions. It consists of nine researchers from various disciplines and research fields.

Further information: https://www.svr-migration.de/en/

Contact: 
Prof. Dr. Irena Kogan 
Professorship of Sociology, Societal Comparisons
University of Mannheim
E-Mail: irena.koganuni-mannheim.de

Nikolaus Hollermeier
Public Relations
Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES)
University of Mannheim
E-Mail: kommunikationmzes.uni-mannheim.de