Abstract
Education and migration intersect on various levels. Educational migration has generally been considered as a form of voluntary migration, with students and academics choosing to move abroad for study purposes. Yet it can also be seen as a form of conflict-induced migration, particularly if we take an expanded understanding of conflict to include protracted social conflicts and exclusionary practises centred on politics, religion, ethnicity, social class and/or gender. Threats to academic freedom (including killings and disappearances, imprisonment, prosecution, loss of position) are also factors which can drive students and academics to migrate. The international organization Scholars at Risk identifies and tracks attacks on academic freedom and seeks to support at-risk academics by facilitating access to temporary placements. Countries such as Afghanistan, Turkey, Yemen, Syria and Belarus - which are not so distant from Europe - have been particularly affected in the last few years and initiatives are growing in Europe to facilitate at-risk scholars and students’ access to higher education, from political advocacy to national funding programmes. At the same time, migrants and asylum seekers already residing in Europe may face a series of barriers when seeking access to higher education, particularly in countries where there are not yet specific support mechanisms in place.
In this conversation we will explore some of the contexts that are threatening students and academics globally and the responses of European institutions and higher education, especially in terms of facilitating access to higher education.
This webinar is part of the online series “Diversity Matters” hosted by the Research Group Migrations and Diversities of Eurac Research. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the webinar series explores the impact of migrations, diversities and mobilities on increasingly superdiverse territorial realities. The series is a forum for experts to share their work and expertise with an audience of fellow academics, students, decision-makers and practitioners.