Dr Melahat Sahin-Dikmen
I am a Lecturer in the School of Organisations, Economy and Society.
I am a sociologist by training and an interdisciplinary scholar in practice. My current research examines the impact of climate change and climate adaptation policies on the world of work, informed by economic sociology, industrial relations, political sociology, and gender studies. My recent projects investigate vocational education and training for low-energy building construction; gender equity in the EU energy efficiency policies and the just transition strategies of labour organisations.
I took my first degree at the London School of Economics and Political Science (1997) and later completed a master's degree in Social Research Methods (2000) also at the LSE. Between 2001-2009, I worked at the Policy Studies Institute on a range of social policy research, followed by a Ph.D. at the University of York (2014). I have been at the University of Westminster since 2016, first as a Research Fellow at the Centre for the Study of the Production of the Built Environment (ProBE), and as a lecturer since 2021.
Climate change and the architectural profession (2021- ongoing)
This study investigates the implications of climate change for the architectural profession. The research will involve analysis of documents, interviews with architects, and case study examples of sustainable architecture in the public and private sectors, both new and retrofit.
Building it Green (2021-2025):
The aim of the programme is to embed climate literacy into skilled trades education and training in Canada. Funded by the Canadian Federal Government and commissioned by CBTU (Canada’s Building Trades Unions), in partnership with Skill Plan, the Social Research and Demonstration Corporation, and Climate, Industry and Research Team (CIRT). ProBE is part of (CIRT) whose members are: Professor John Calvert (Simon Fraser University), Professor Vivian Price (California State University), Pier-Luc Bilodeau (Universitat Laval), Evelyn Dionne (Universitet Laval), Lee Loftus (CBTU), Professor Linda Clarke, Dr Melahat Sahin-Dikmen (University of Westminster) and Professor Christopher Winch (King's College). The UK team is responsible for identifying and evaluating climate literacy initiatives from Europe.