Maia Chankseliani is Professor of Comparative and International Education at the University of Oxford, specialising in the role of higher education in social, economic, and political development. Last year, she finished a three-year research project entitled ‘International mobility and world development’, for which she and her colleagues conducted over 700 interviews in 70 countries and examined various systemic effects of international academic mobility. In our interview with her, she explains what mechanisms explain how international academic mobility can reduce poverty and promote democracy and what practical conclusions for politics and science can be drawn from this, especially in times of mounting global isolationism against immigration.
Andreas Genoni is a sociologist working at the Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB) in Germany. Together with his colleague Didier Ruedin, he recently published an analysis entitled ‘When expectations backfire: Unmet migration expectations and changes in the destination attachment of recent immigrants to Switzerland’. In their paper, the two authors examine the relationship between immigrants' expectations of Switzerland as a country of residence and their emotional attachment to Switzerland over time. In an interview with us, Genoni explains what the important ‘integration paradox’ is all about, what he considers to be the key findings of the analysis, and what conclusions can be drawn from this for political practice.
Exactly one year ago, Donald Trump was sworn in for his second term as President of the United States of America. What impact have his administration's policies had on the US higher education and science system since then? Are the accusations that universities such as Harvard University are not doing enough to combat antisemitic activities on their campuses justified? And how exactly is Donald Trump's second term in office affecting the work of international researchers at universities in the US? We discussed these questions with German Harvard researcher Mathias Risse, Professor in Human Rights, Global Affairs and Philosophy and Director of the Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights at Harvard University.
