Lieke van der Veer holds a graduate honours degree in Conflict Resolution and Governance and an undergraduate honours degree in Philosophy, both from the University of Amsterdam. She conducted research on the penalization of illegal residence, focusing on the performativity of administrative categorizations, institutional responsibilities and political speech. As a research assistant, she consulted with several NGOs, legal experts and researchers on the topic of non-returnable asylum seekers. Currently she works on her master thesis in Philosophy, on refugee-support and protest on the ground.