How long do you have to wait for an appointment to apply for a visa at a German diplomatic mission abroad? How big are the differences between the various countries in which the visa is to be applied for? And how can these differences be explained? These questions are addressed in the latest analysis by a research group led by Emanuel Deutschmann, Assistant Professor of Sociological Theory at the University of Flensburg, Germany, and Associate at the Migration Policy Centre of the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. In this interview, he explains what prompted the analysis, how the research team approached it methodologically, what he considers to be the most important findings of the analysis, and whether these findings can be applied to other countries.
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.
One of the spotlight articles of this year's main edition of ‘Wissenschaft weltoffen’ deals with the effects of exogenous shocks on international researcher mobility. In an interview with us, author Dr Andrey Lovakov, postdoctoral researcher at the German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW), explains what data he used for this analysis, what he considers to be the most important and surprising findings, and what practical conclusions can be drawn from them for the future.
The new DAAD study ‘Internationalisation in the Digital Transformation’ combines the analyses of two research projects: the project ‘Internationalisation in the Digital Transformation: Strategies of German Higher Education Institutions’ (INDISTRA), funded by the Federal Foreign Office, and data from the sixth Global Survey conducted by…
Dr Torger Möller and Philippe Dittmann are research associates at the German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW). Together, they conducted a study examining the impact of DAAD graduate funding based on the publications of (former) DAAD grantees. In this interview, they explain their methodological approach, what they consider to be the key findings of the study, and what practical recommendations can be derived from these findings for the DAAD and other funding organisations.
A new study by the German Economic Institute (IW), commissioned by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), is the first to comprehensively analyse the economic impact of international students from the start of their studies up to their retirement. The study indicates that the approximately…
Anuja Desai is a Senior Soft Power Analyst at the British Council. She oversees the British Council’s commissioned research on soft power in relation to development, peace, and security. In this interview, we talk to her about the concerns, needs and hopes of young people…
Johannes Haushofer is a development economist and Professor of Economics at the National University of Singapore and Stockholm University. One of his main research interests is the reduction of poverty in the Global South. At the same time, he is also active as a practitioner in this field: in 2021, he founded the organisation Malengo, which enables school graduates from low-income countries to study in Europe. The impact of their support is being scientifically analysed by an independent research team. In this interview, Johannes Haushofer explains how he came to investigate the effects of educational migration, how exactly the Malengo project works and which research questions are at the centre of the investigation into its impact.
Dr. Jenna Mittelmeier is a researcher and lecturer in International Education at the Institute of Education at the University of Manchester. Together with other researchers, she just published the latest edition of the “DAAD Research Brief”. It contains the findings of a qualitative interview study on the everyday experiences of international students in Germany and their significance for students' intercultural learning. In the interview, she explains the specific and innovative approach of the study, summarises the most important findings of the study and explains what recommendations she believes can be made for university practice on this basis.
