The aim of the MIGREC Project is to build internationally leading scientific research capacity in Migration Studies at the Faculty of Political Science (FPN) at the University of Belgrade (UoB), ensuring that UoB scholars can contribute effectively to the research, policy and practical challenges arising from multiple and intersecting changes confronting currently Serbia, the region of the Western Balkans and also the whole of the European Union.
The Project is based on the idea of creating a 3.5 year training programme, which functions on two levels, a horizontal and a vertical.
On the horizontal level, the MIGREC Project enhances the already existing research capacity of the UoB scholars by upgrading migration-related research excellence and impact through introducing training on new high-calibre methodologies and theoretical approaches, publishing in international academic journals, attending international conferences, regional and international networking, mentoring, participating in externally funded research, public engagement and producing policy-related and policy informing academic research. Different topics are presented in the Project’s leaflets and newsletters, a series of the project presentations are conducted, academic and professional papers are prepared and published in high-impact national and international journals. The international conference “Migration in the Western Balkans – Re-thinking Crisis Narratives” symbolically marked the end of the Project.
On the vertical level, the MIGREC Project brings together all the dispersed scientific knowledge under the umbrella of a multidisciplinary, cross-departmental Migration, Integration and Governance Research Centre (MIGREC), under the leadership of the FPN. The centre started its work as an integrative focal point of Migration Studies at the UoB as well as an incubator and accelerator of related academic research through the advancement of research synergies and the creation of a PhD in Migration Policy. It aims at the provision of training, mentoring and coordination in relation to materialising the Project’s aims and ensuring the long-term sustainability of its impact. Its vision is to expand the boundaries in migration research and education based on excellence, integrity and cooperation with academics, practitioners from state and civil sectors, policy makers and general public. Its core focus is on five thematic areas: migrant integration; the migration-development nexus; migration governance; knowledge, debates and representations; as well as theories and methods in migration studies.
The overall objectives of the MIGREC Project are as follows:
1. Elaborating on the research advancements needs of the MIGREC.
2. Establishing the Centre’s research excellence structures and support mechanisms.
3. Securing the Centre’s Scientific Excellence by building capacity in migration-related research.
4. Developing the Centre’s staff transferable skills and coordinating Policy/NGO Co-operation.
5. Increasing awareness and involvement of all stakeholders (e.g. policy-makers, NGOs, public and representatives of Western-Balkan region) of the Centre’s activities, through dissemination, exploitation and ensuring its long-term sustainability.
PhD programme in Migration Policy was submitted to the relevant accreditation body to offer knowledge and skills in the field of migration policy in English language. Inter-disciplinary approach spans from political science to geography and communication and will present a unique opportunity for those interested in theorizing and researching migration to be educated at the PhD level.
