|
Most people assume that with the effects of globalization it should be easier for educated professionals to migrate to countries such as Canada and work in their chosen professions.
Dr. Oliver Schmidtke, acting director of UVic’s European studies program and a leading scholar in European integration, is testing this assumption by researching the challenges immigrants face when they move to new countries and re-enter their chosen professions.
The research project, entitled Cultural Capital During Migration: Labour Market Integration of Migrants, is being funded by the German Volkswagen Foundation. It includes an international team of researchers in Canada, Germany, Turkey and the UK—countries that have all experienced significant increases in immigration levels.
Researchers in each country are studying the key factors that limit immigrants from accessing the labour market and the ways they’re being treated. These results will be compared for similarities and differences and then used to improve conditions for immigrants.
Schmidtke is a key member of this international initiative and project leader of the UVic component. His research team is looking for recent immigrants to Victoria to interview for the project. More specifically, the team is looking for people who have immigrated to Canada within the last 20 years and who have a professional degree that they earned either in their country of origin or in Canada.
If you fit this description and you’re interested in taking part in this research and/or you know someone else who might be, contact Beatrice Marry or Mirko Kovacev at 472-5120 or culcapit@uvic.ca. For more information about the project visit http://culturalcapital.magistudio.com.
Schmidtke will speak on European integration and migration at the 2006 Biennial Conference of the European Community Studies Association—Canada. The event, hosted by UVic’s European studies program, is being held at the Victoria Conference Centre, May 19–20. For more information visit http://web.uvic.ca/europe/.
|
