Highly skilled migration: A life course approach

Principal researcher

Anu Kõu

Type of research

PhD research

Supervisors

Professor Leo van Wissen, Professor Jouke van Dijk, Dr Ajay Bailey

Summary of the project

The PhD project is entitled ‘Migrant biographies of highly skilled Indians in the Netherlands and United Kingdom' and can be summarised as follows:

The rapid decline in transportation and telecommunications costs is boosting swift mobility of skilled migrants. Concurrently, many of the European Union countries search for ways to attract highly skilled migrants in order to deal with the domestic consequences of population decline and shortage of skilled labour. It is not only important to treat labour migrants as economic entities but also as people who experience various life transitions. As previous research has rarely linked high-skilled migration and life course, this project aims to provide insights into the interdependencies of knowledge migrants’ parallel migration, employment, and household careers. Applying the life course approach facilitates a deeper understanding of the influence of life paths, social networks, diasporas, and immigration policies on the migration strategies undertaken by highly skilled Indians in the Netherlands and United Kingdom.

Publications

• Kõu, A., L.J.G. van Wissen and A. Bailey (2010), Meer dan hersens
  alleen: De levensloop van hoogopgeleide migranten. /Demos/ 26(1)(Special
  Issue Demografiedag): 8-10.
• Kõu, A., L.J.G. van Wissen and A. Bailey (2010), More than brains
  only: The life course of highly skilled migrants. /Demos /26 (Special
  Issue European Population Conference): 10-12. [ Download]

Presentations

• An overview of the PhD research presented at PhD masterclass 'Transnational interactions and local developments' by Prof. Alejandro Portes, 22-23 June 2009, Utrecht.
• 'Migrant biographies: A life course approach to high-skilled migration'. XXVI IUSSP International Population Conference, 27 September - 2 October 2009, Marrakech, and 3rd Dutch Demography Day, 22 October 2009, Utrecht.
• 'Structuring the life course: biographies of highly skilled Indians in the Netherlands'. European Population Conference, 1-4 September 2010, Vienna.
• Terämä, E., *A. Kõu* and S. KC 'Past trends and gender differences of higher education in the Former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries'. European Population Conference, 1-4 September 2010, Vienna.

Work in Progress

• 'Narratives of brain migration: biographies of highly skilled Indians in the Netherlands'. To be presented at Utrecht-Asia seminar 'Tapping the transnational brains: Skilled mobilities and development', 16-17 December 2010, Utrecht.