MIDIC was conducted at the Institute for Research into Superdiversity (IRiS) of the University of Birmingham (UK), with a secondment at the Fondazione Mondinsieme in Reggio Emilia (IT). It represents a pioneering investigation that elaborated new concepts and methodological tools enabling future research on the intercultural competence (IC) of migrant descendants (MDs).
MIDIC drew on the work on IC developed by the Council of Europe.
It adopted a qualitative approach and compared the Italian and UK context. It firstly created a knowledge base through reviews of: A) Literature on the processes of social inclusion and multicultural identity development of MDs; B) Studies on the conditions of MDs in the labour market; C) Literature on IC. Secondly, through 45 semi-structured interviews and 4 focus group discussions (FGDs) with MD university students, it explored and systematised MD’s description of their IC components, development processes and gaps. Interviews were partly based on the Autobiography of Intercultural Encounters, an instrument built by the Council of Europe to promote the development of IC among young people.
Through 6 FGDs, MD university students discussed their perceptions of the potentials of their IC for career development and the labour market. Additionally, stakeholders of the labour market (including HR managers, company consultants, representatives of employers’ associations, of chambers of commerce, and of trade unions) discussed, through 6 FGDs, their attitudes to MD’s IC in work organizations. Data were collected both in the UK and Italy to analyse how different migration histories and different levels of opportunities for MD influence MD’s IC development and MD’s and employers’ perspectives about its utilisation. Data have been investigated through thematic analysis. Findings have been substantiated and diseminated via high quality scientific contributions published (and to be published) in peer reviewed journals
