Vacancy - Internship: ‘Lost in transit? Deconstructing the Il/legalization of Migrants Dwelling in European Transit Zones’

About UN University

For the past four decades, UNU has been a go-to think tank for impartial research on the pressing global problems of human survival, conflict prevention, development, and welfare. With more than 400 researchers in 13 countries, UNU’s work spans the full breadth of the 17 SDGs, generating policy-relevant knowledge to effect positive global change. UNU maintains more than 200 collaborations with UN agencies and leading universities and research institutions across the globe.

 

United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS)

The United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS), established in 2001, is one of the research and training institutes of the United Nations University (UNU) network. The specific mission of UNU-CRIS is to foster a better understanding of the processes of regional integration and cooperation and their implications in a changing world order. UNU-CRIS specialises in the comparative study of regional integration, monitoring and assessing regional integration worldwide and in the study of interactions between regional organisations and global institutions. As of October 2016, UNU-CRIS is cooperating with the Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Ghent University.

 

About CESSMIR, Ghent University

The Centre for the Social Study of Migration and Refugees (CESSMIR) is an interdisciplinary consortium aimed at societal impact at Ghent University. CESSMIR includes about 100 researchers from seven different faculties. Three elements form the key thread in CESSMIR’s activities: interdisciplinarity, societal impact, and participation. Hence, we stimulate interdisciplinary research projects and university-wide courses, organize practical trainings for practitioners and policy-makers, and maximize the involvement of stakeholders through the research process.

Every two years, CESSMIR organises some activities on a particular focus theme. In 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, our theme is ‘Language, migration and refugees’. Stay tuned on our website, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook for more information on upcoming study days, trainings, lectures and other activities!

 

Topic

A full-time internship position is available to support the research project ‘Lost in Transit? Deconstructing the il/legalization of migrants dwelling in European transit zones’. This project examines the complex legal pathways that migrants navigate throughout Europe and looks into the socio-legal support they are offered (either by state actors, civic actors, or among migrants themselves) in European zones of transit.

 

Tasks

  • Participation in field visits to Calais (France)
  • Mediation and interpretation during informal conversations and in-depth interviews with migrants dwelling in Calais
  • Transcription and coding of interviews
  • Preliminary analysis of the empirical data
  • Literature review on engaged and collaborative ethnographic methods
  • Writing a vignette/blogpost on engaged and collaborative ethnographic methods
  • Internal oral presentation of outcomes

 

The above tasks are performed in close collaboration with the PhD candidate Maud Martens and under the supervision of Dr. Marlies Casier, Prof. Dr. Robin Vandevoordt and Prof. Dr. Ellen Desmet.

 

Profile, qualifications and experience

  • Enrolled in or in possession of a Master's in the broad Political and Social Sciences or equivalent experiences
  • Intercultural awareness, sensitiveness and clear communication (training in interpretation or intercultural mediation is an asset)
  • Mother tongue/C2 level in Arabic
  • Sufficient English reading, writing and speaking skills
  • French speaking skills are an asset
  • Sufficient analytic writing skills
  • Previous experience in or knowledge of migration contexts and/or working with vulnerable groups is an asset
  • Candidates with a migration background are particularly encouraged to apply

Supervisors: Robin Vandevoordt, Ellen Desmet, Marlies Casier & Maud Martens

Deadline to apply: 24 March 2024 (23.59 CET)

Starting date: The exact starting date can be discussed, but no later than 1 May 2024

Duration:: 4 months

 

Application Process

Please submit a CV and cover letter outlining your interest in the position and relevant experience to Marlies.casier@ugent.be before 24 March 2024 (23.59).

Selected applicants may be invited to attend a short afternoon interview on 27 March 2024.