Jana Schmitt is a Research Assistant in the Frankfurt office of Technopolis Group. Her areas of expertise include migration, international and development cooperation, as well as education and climate policy. In addition to Europe, she has particular regional knowledge of Africa and Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA).

Throughout her academic career, Jana has applied a range of qualitative methods, including case studies, interviews, desk research and literature reviews. She also has experience of quantitative methods as part of mixed-methods approaches. She brings experience in presenting complex information in a structured manner and conducting evidence-based analysis of policy issues.

Before joining Technopolis, Jana gained practical experience in a variety of institutional settings. At the German Federal Foreign Office, she focused primarily on international cooperation in economic affairs and raw materials and supported work relating to the 15th UN Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP 15) in Montreal. Through educational programmes run by the State Agency for Civic Education, she worked on the European Green Deal, democracy promotion and political participation. At the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and its UN Liaison Office in Geneva, she worked on migration, human rights, and environmental and climate policy in an international context.

Jana holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Applied Political Science, with a focus on transnational cooperation in the Mediterranean region, from the University of Freiburg and the Institut d’études politiques d’Aix-en-Provence. She also holds an MSc in Migration, Mobility and Development Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. In addition to German, she speaks fluent English and French and has a basic knowledge of Spanish and Arabic.