TOM · Transnationality of Migrants: Enduring ties with the home country and integration in the host country

Final Activity Report Summary - TOM (Transnationality of Migrants: Enduring ties with the home country and integration in the host country)

The network achieved significant results in the areas of research and in the hiring and training of young researchers. The network was launched in January 2007 with the aim of highlighting the key role of migrants' networks in sustaining ties with the home country and fostering integration in the host country. Research was produced and disseminated focusing on five themes: (1) Migrants' transnational practices and families in Europe; (2) Remittances, the skill composition of migration, and social networks; (3) International trade flows, foreign direct investment and migration; (4) Migrants' integration, social and business networks, and trade; (5) Gender and the intra-household effects of migration. Recruitment and Training of Early Stage and Experienced Researchers. Over the project's four-year duration, 34 young researchers were recruited from both old and new EU member states, as well as Albania, Turkey, Colombia and the United States. The network was successful in promoting gender balance in its recruitment, hiring 20 female researchers overall. Research achievements. A number of joint research initiatives - both between team members and young researchers - were initiated through the project, and all team members and recruited young researchers had many opportunities to network both together and with a wide range of external researchers working in the field at workshops, conferences and summer schools. During the course of the project, over a hundred papers by network members were published in peer-reviewed journals or edited books. Interaction between team members and recruited researchers extended beyond supervision to joint research and in many cases joint publications: over the course of the project over 40 papers co-authored by team members and recruited young researchers working in collaboration. Network events. 14 network events were organised over the course of the project, the most significant being the four annual conferences, held in Riga, Louvain, Hamburg and Venice. The final conference was held in memory of the former TOM coordinator Riccardo Faini who passed away on January 20, 2007. These conferences contributed toward objective debate on the critical issues, problems, and opportunities in migration trends. Scholars and especially young researchers from universities, research institutions, and international organisations were brought together to create fruitful dialogue, share the latest findings, and exchange experience. The network also organised four summer schools, all held in Italy, which provided an intensive training course for the TOM students and other Ph.D. students and young researchers working in the fields of international economics and development. Three international workshops were also held to facilitate the spread of research ideas on specific topics. Recruited young researchers provided much of the inspiration and organisation for these workshops. The network website http://www.cepr.org/research/networks/TOM/ facilitated the publicising of TOM network events and activities. It also facilitated the general communication between TOM researchers and attracted external researchers and policy makers to the network.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union