Overcoming adversity, developing resilience and persistence are themes which extend from the personal life into academic pursuits for Caroline Birkner (Architecture MPhil 2023).

Caroline’s interest is in social architecture, putting people and communities in the foreground, with her MPhil in Architecture and Urban Studies supporting her aims. She has also learned from experience the need to, put simply, keep going.

“For the people out there who might be going through challenging things in your life, it's always worth fighting for possibilities in your life,” she says. 

“Every person is gifted and skilled in their own way, and there is a place for everyone. Although you might encounter difficulties, there's always a place for you.”

Caroline's academic interests were inspired by a Ukrainian refugee housed in her student accommodation in Munich at the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in spring 2022. She is looking at how to promote social equity, with the ultimate goal of influencing policy.

She adds: “I'm working on this overlap of housing studies and refugee studies, looking at the potential of social and collaborative housing to welcoming newcomers in the city, especially refugees.”

Caroline accepts social equity in housing and accommodation can be an internal issue within cities and countries. Her focus on refugees is in part to promote integration of migrants in communities and wider society, with migration expected to grow, whether due to wars or the climate crisis. An empathy for the experience of refugees is behind her specialist subject.

She adds: “When you look at the housing situation in itself, it's so complex and it's already facing a lot of challenges almost everywhere in Europe. However, given this context, it's extremely important to look at the most vulnerable members of our society namely refugees.

“My research area is just a way of designing a safe space for them to encounter high-quality housing and the opportunity to connect with the local community to support integration in the mean of a two-way process.”

Born and raised in Vienna, Caroline completed an undergraduate degree in Architecture at The Technical University of Munich and subsequently did a Master’s in International Cooperation of Sustainable Emergency Architecture in Barcelona.

Her undergraduate experience was shaped by the Covid-19 pandemic and two sporting injuries which required lengthy rehabilitation. The first was a torn anterior cruciate ligament sustained skiing and the second a fractured elbow which, like the knee injury, required surgery and months of physical therapy. She is back skiing and riding her bike and, now in Cambridge, rowing with Caius Boat Club.

As for being at the University of Cambridge and Caius, it fits with her aims.

“I’m so happy to be here,” she says.