Špela Kastelic earned her master’s degree in the anthropology of popular cultures from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Ljubljana (Department of Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology, KREOL Program). During her studies, she participated in student exchange programs in Spain and Sweden and completed an internship and field research in Barcelona. Between 2011 and 2016, she worked as a professional associate at various NGOs in the fields of advocacy, culture, and youth. For several years, she volunteered to provide educational support to migrants and asylum seekers in Ljubljana. Between 2015 and 2016, she served as a protection information field officer as part of the UNHCR/PiC mission on the southeastern Slovenian-Croatian border. 

Since 2017, she has been enrolled in the Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program of Environmental Protection (University of Ljubljana). Her doctoral research focuses on climate change, climate vulnerability, and migration. As part of her doctoral studies, she attended the EDGE International Summer School on Environmental Change and Migration, organised by the HUGO Observatory at the University of Liège.

Areas of expertise: forced migration, refugees, immigrant integration, climate change, vulnerability, environmental and climate displacement

KASTELIC, Špela, AZHIEVSKA, Ivana, GOSTIČ, Maja, GOMBAČ, Jure. 2024. Multi-sector needs assessment Slovenia 2023. 1. izd. Ljubljana: Inštitut za slovensko izseljenstvo in migracije ZRC SAZU. https://isim.zrc-sazu.si/sites/default/files/MSNA%20SLOVENIA%202023_final%20report.pdf 

KASTELIC, Špela, ZAVRATNIK, Simona. 2022. Podnebna ranljivost : koncept, ki naslavlja globalno periferijo?. V: IGNJATOVIĆ, Miroljub (ur.), KANJUO-MRČELA, Aleksandra (ur.), KUHAR, Roman (ur.). Socio-ekološka transformacija : Slovensko sociološko srečanje : Ljubljana, 4. in 5. november 2022. Elektronska izd. Ljubljana: Slovensko sociološko društvo, 2022. Str. 127-131. https://www.sociolosko-drustvo.si/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SSD-ZBORNIK-PRISPEVKOV-22-WEB-OK.pdf. 

KASTELIC, Špela. 2020. Razmislek o konceptu podnebnih migracij. Časopis za kritiko znanosti, letn. 48, št. 279, str. 159-178.

KASTELIC, Špela. 2020. Wrażliwość społeczna i adaptacja jako perspektywa migracji wywołanej klimatem = Social vulnerability and adaptation as a perspective of climate-induced migration. The Polish migration review, [no.] 6, str. 44-55

KASTELIC, Špela (avtor, urednik), BEZNEC, Barbara (avtor, urednik), GOMBAČ, Jure (avtor, urednik). 2020. Zaključna publikacija Urban diversity. 1. izd. Ljubljana: Založba ZRC, ZRC SAZU. https://doi.org/10.3986/9789610504528

• Migrants'emplacement at the micro-level: Restaurants as the contact zones (January 1, 2025 - December 31, 2027)
• Housing: to Overcome Unstable Situation in Europe (H:OUSE) (March 1, 2024 - February 28, 2027)
• Resources on the Move (RES-MOVE) (March 1, 2024 - February 28, 2027)
• Translating cultural language – TOCL (April 1, 2022 - February 29, 2024)
• Empowering Migrants to Be Representative Actors in Community Engagement - EMBRACE (January 1, 2022 - December 31, 2023)
• Development of inclusive integration paths 4 migrant women (February 1, 2021 - March 31, 2023)
• FISHERCOAST: Coastal transformations and fisher wellbeing – synthesized perspectives from India and Europe (international project • January 1, 2019 - June 30, 2022)
• BEST – Boosting Entrepreneurial Skills as Tool of integration of migrants to labour market (applied project • February 1, 2019 - July 31, 2021)
• PandPAS (international project • December 1, 2017 - November 30, 2019)
• URBAN DIVERSITY (international project • May 1, 2017 - April 30, 2020)
• Only (with) others are we (applied project • May 13, 2016 - September 30, 2021)