Seminar

About the speaker 

Romain Houssa is a professor of economics at the University of Namur where  he undertakes his research  within the Institute of Development Finance and Public Policies (DeFiPP), including the  Center for Research in the Economics of Development (CRED) and the Center for Research in Finance and Management (CeReFiM). His research interests include the areas of applied macroeconomics, international macroeconomics, monetary economics, and development economics. Most of his work has been concerned with understanding the causes and welfare implications of macroeconomics as well as the micro and macroeconomic aspects of economic growth. His research appeared in Journal of Development Economics, European Economic Review, World Development, Ecological Economics, Journal of Productivity Analysis. Romain holds a PhD in economics from KU Leuven in 2008. 

The aim of the present work is to analyse engagement strategies regarding the Brazilian Diaspora of Science, Technology and Innovation (ST&I) by the Brazilian government. The specific use of the term diaspora for the migration of highly qualified people has developed throughout time, starting with the “brain drain” approach and moving towards the understanding of the positive effects of talent insertion in the international knowledge network (“brain circulation” and “brain networking”). At the beginning, the engagement strategies were focused on mapping the diaspora members, carrying out events and awarding prizes to outstanding diaspora members. More recently, the policy design became “high resolution”, articulating cooperation and engagement based on specific national problems. Thus, the challenge posed is twofold: not only mapping and engaging the diaspora, but, simultaneously, expanding the cooperation in strategic themes to home country problems, where the collaboration is a two-way road. The efficient engagement of the ST&I diaspora depends on strategies and policies that promote substantial behavioural changes, both at the diaspora level – so that this is motivated towards engagement with homeland projects – and at the sending country institutions – setting up more flexible and less bureaucratical mechanisms and tools. This means changes in the way diaspora issues are being understood and dealt with, setting up a favourable environment for the establishment of virtuous interaction circles.  The focus of the presentation will be the engagement strategies regarding the Brazilian Diaspora of ST&I in the United States of America by the Brazilian government, specifically the project named Rede Diáspora Brasil.  This project was developed from 2013 to 2016 by the Brazilian Industrial Development Agency (ABDI) and was funded by the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil). 

A large part of research in migration studies focuses on urban centers. Context-specific social processes surrounding international migration to and diversity in rural regions, small villages and marginalized, or downscaled, areas have been widely omitted by scholarship and policy. However, the often specific social make-up, community structures and spatial developments in those areas, may bring about dynamics that are different from those in big cities. This workshop invites early career researchers, PhD candidates, post-Doc researchers and master students, who are keen to shift, decenter or broaden the focus on international migration into rural areas to come together.  The workshop consists of two parts: a first co-creation session in which we will explore topics/questions on conceptual and methodological issues of migration research in rural areas. The outcomes of this session will provide input for the second part, a panel discussion with notable rural scholars: Prof. Michael Woods, Prof. Birgit Glorius, Dr. Marlies Meijer, Prof. Sarah Neal and Dr. Rosario Sampredro. The panel will be followed by small-group workshops with the speakers, and provides the ability for the participants to further dive into a specific question or issue. 

The first seminar in the ERCOMER guest seminar series will be held on Monday 6th September, from 13.15 to 14.45. It shall be provided online. The talk shall be given by Dr Liza Mügge, associate professor at the political science department of the University of Amsterdam (UvA), and research theme co-leader of the Diverse Europe group of the Amsterdam Research Centre for European Studies. Her research focuses on political representation and equality of ethnic/racial and sexual minorities and women in Europe.

EU Eastern Enlargement elicited a rise in (temporary) labour market-oriented immigration to Germany starting in May 2011. Taking into account that not all immigrants stay permanently and that outmigration flows are selective, this paper classifies recent EU immigrants into “new arrivals” and “stayers” drawing on administrative social security data (2005-2017). 

Due to unforeseen circumstances the seminar that had been scheduled for 29th September has had to be rescheduled

Data is commonly considered a driver for more informed and timely decision-making in humanitarian response. At the same time, there is still often a disconnect between data and decisions, with cognitive and motivational biases likely affecting decision-making. 

Research generates ideas, knowledge and recommendations but it will only have a real-world impact if it is properly understood, effectively communicated and, ultimately, used to inform policy decisions. A key strategic objective for UNU-MERIT is to get our research agenda – in particular Comprehensive Innovation for Sustainable Development (CI4SD) issues – on policymakers’ agendas and to see our recommendations and findings implemented as policy. 

On 26 November 2021 a seminar on the “Recent Developments in the Area of International Parentage” will take place. This seminar is organised in honour of Prof. R. de Groot (a MACIMIDE board member) on the occasion of his 70th birthday. To register please click here. 

Join the EUI Migration Working Group, Qualifie and CERC Migration for a presentation and discussion of the open access book “Visual Methodology in Migration Studies. New Possibilities, Theoretical Implications, and Ethical Questions”.