Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford

Are you interested in pursuing a master's degree at the University of Oxford or other universities worldwide in 2025? Would you like to receive 1:1 mentorship as you put together your application materials? The Refugee-Led Research Hub (RLRH) is running Graduate Horizons, a global application support programme for prospective students who have been affected by displacement. The programme is designed for students who have completed (or will soon complete) a bachelor’s degree and are interested in submitting applications for master's programmes that begin in 2025 at various institutions worldwide. Want to know more? Join an information session to learn more about the support that will be available through Graduate Horizons. During the session, RLRH colleagues will discuss the materials you need to submit for this application, what you can expect from the programme, and they will answer any questions you may have on graduate application processes. Sessions are held over Zoom on: Session 1: August 6 (Tuesday), 3pm BST. Session 2: August 14 (Wednesday), 3pm BST. Session 3: August 22 (Thursday), 1pm BST. The deadline to apply is 5:00pm BST on Monday 2nd September. Find full details at https://lnkd.in/eyhFvki5 #refugees #study #mentorship #graduates

Applications are open for the International Online School in Forced Migration for academic year 2024-2025. Courses are scheduled to run on: ● 9-13 December 2024 ● 17-21 March 2025 ● 23-27 June 2025 The five-day Online School offers a programme of study on forced migration that is theoretically rigorous, empirically informed, and inclusive. Participants are provided with a wealth of learning materials to engage with before their School starts, including pre-recorded lectures, exercises, and readings. During the School, participants attend and participate in seminars, discussions, and debates. The School’s demanding academic content is complemented by a range of social and networking opportunities. All modules are written and taught by experts in the field of forced migration studies. The tutors are Professor Catherine Briddick, Professor Matthew Gibney, and Professor Tom Scott-Smith. We will also have a wealth of brilliant guest lecturers! Find full details at: https://lnkd.in/eFzQUZXe #courses #forcedmigration #refugees

What are the implications of technology use by states and refugees? The 2nd launch event for FMR  73 ‘Digital disruption and displacement’ is available to watch now: https://lnkd.in/edKnM9ri We had a fascinating discussion, covering mobile phone screening in asylum processes, biometric data collection as part of refugee registration and digitally mediated counter-surveillance. Featured speakers:  Derya Ozkul, University of Warwick (moderator)  Sanjeeb Hossain, Centre for Peace and Justice, BRAC University  Kinan Alajak, Utrecht University  Nyi Nyi Kyaw, Chiang Mai University #Asylum #Tech #Borders #Biometrics #Refugees 

Applications for our Visiting Fellowship Programme are open for Trinity Term 2025 (Sunday 27 April 2025 - Saturday 21 June 2025). Applications will close on 29 September 2024. Visiting Fellowships are open to professional academics, post-doctoral scholars, independent non-academic researchers, and PhD (DPhil) students researching aspects of forced migration. The main purpose of the Visiting Fellowship Programme is to enhance the academic work (research and teaching) of the Refugee Studies Centre by mutual exchange and learning. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/eEhe4vUT #study #research #forcedmigration

Dr Ashwiny Kistnareddy (Leverhulme Early Career Fellow) has a new article published in the Journal of Intercultural Studies, and it’s Open Access. ‘Ambivalent encounters in Calais’ is based on research she carried out in the Calais refugee settlements in 2023. The ambivalent encounters she examines enable readers to comprehend the complex negotiation of space and belonging for people on the move in Calais, including their encounters with the different humanitarian agencies operating in the area, the local government, and ultimately, the French nation. The article is part of a forthcoming co-edited special edition on encounters and the nation. Read it at https://lnkd.in/eX7Gfj3v #nations #migrants #Calais #refugees #humanitarian

In a new article in World Development, Alexander Betts, Maria Flinder Stierna, Naohiko Omata and Olivier Sterck explore the economic lives of refugees, and analyse the heterogeneity they find. Whilst refugees’ economic lives are often considered to be relatively homogenous, Betts et al. describe the socio-economic diversity of refugees living in East Africa. Using first-hand quantitative and qualitative data collected in Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia, they systematically compare 12 refugee subpopulations living in seven refugee camps and the three capital cities. They find that: 1) Refugee lives are heterogeneous, with significant variation in income, assets, and food security across context, nationality, and household. 2) Refugees’ economic strategies vary, with groups differently reliant upon work, remittances, and aid as sources of income. 3) Refugees’ economic strategies and constraints depend on local and national institutions and on their personal characteristics. As they explain, describing and understanding sources of within-group variation matters for research and policy. It reveals that one-size-fits-all approaches to refugee assistance are unlikely to be effective unless complemented by contextual understanding and designed with subpopulations in mind. The article is available here: https://lnkd.in/eCvjiiD9 (open access). #refugees #research #livelihoods #EastAfrica

Out this week, we have a new publication from the Refugee Economies Programme. Vittorio Bruni, Patrick Mutinda Muthui, Cory Rodgers and Olivier Sterck have co-authored the report ‘Refugee Debt and Livelihoods in Northern Kenya’, which looks at how debt is used as a coping strategy by refugees in Kakuma refugee camp and the Kalobeyei settlement, which, together, constitute one of the largest refugee camps in Africa. A few key points: ·      refugees remain highly dependent on humanitarian assistance; ·      87% of households are indebted to a food retailer; ·      debt levels have increased dramatically since 2019; ·      lack of livelihood opportunities, low levels of assistance, increasing prices, aid delays, aid cutbacks, and shocks all play a role in the creation and continuation of debt; ·      implicit interest rates push refugees into a debt trap. Read the report here: https://lnkd.in/ej_SpdHN

2nd online launch announcement!    We invite you to join us for ‘Borders, technology, and movement: Implications of technology use by states and refugees’     Tuesday, 18 June from 16:00 London / 17:00 Geneva / 18:00 Nairobi / 20:00 Islamabad / 08:00 San Francisco / 11:00 New York (1hr).     Webinar speakers include: Derya Ozkul, University of Warwick (moderator)   Sanjeeb Hossain, Centre for Peace and Justice, BRAC University   Kinan Alajak, Utrecht University   Nyi Nyi Kyaw, Chiang Mai University    To register, please visit: https://lnkd.in/dK7QU4Ft      #Displacement #Refugees #BorderTech #BorderTechonology #Technology #TechEthics #AIEthics

The audio podcast of the seminar ‘Skilled worker visas for refugees – a qualitative evaluation of the UK’s Displaced Talent Mobility Pilot’, with Olivier Sterck (RSC), Marina Brizar, Sarah Walder and Jana Al Mawed (all Talent Beyond Boundaries), is now online. Well worth a listen on SoundCloud at https://lnkd.in/esfpKYpi Also available on our website at https://lnkd.in/eX9GVwEV

Refugee Week 2024 events in Oxford!   Next week is Refugee Week 2024, running from 17-23 June. Refugee Week is the world’s largest arts and culture festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of people seeking sanctuary. It’s been running in the UK since 1998 and is always the week around World Refugee Day (20 June). This year’s Refugee Week theme is ‘Our Home’.   In Oxford, a full programme of events has been organised, led by Asylum Welcome. This week the Oxford Sanctuary Fair takes place tomorrow, Thursday 13 June, at Oxford Town Hall. For details of all events see https://lnkd.in/ecBTbVd2   For more information on Refugee Week visit https://lnkd.in/d4eruEP