The Academy for African Migration Research (AAMR): supporting the development of the next generation of African migration scholars
Lead Research Organisation:
University of the Witwatersrand
Department Name: Research Office
Abstract
Over a three year period, the Academy for African Migration Research will undertake two key activities:
(1) Four 'institutes' to provide capacity building for doctoral students and early-career researchers who are a maximum of 3-years post-PhD, to refine their research focus and promote professional development and scholarly contributions.
(2) A series of research visits/exchanges for established academics and postdoctoral fellows to support building research capacity and strengthening the intellectual project for migration research in Africa.
The Academy currently includes seven institutions in 5 countries [TBC]. Applications for the institutes will be accepted from doctoral students and early-career researchers from any African institute.
1. University of Addis Ababa and/or OSSREA, Ethiopia
2. University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
3. Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
4. Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique
5. University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa
6. University of Cape Town, South Africa
7. University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Institutes: A series of four 'institutes' will be held at different locations across the ARUA network, each focusing on a different thematic area: migration and urbanization; migration, health and wellbeing; belonging, difference and diaspora; and, the knowledge politics of migration research in Africa. These institutes will also incorporate professional development training, including the development of peer-support and mentorship mechanisms. A final event will be held in the final/third year. This will take the form of a conference for early career researchers and postgraduate students - including those who have participated in the institutes - working on migration and mobility in Africa.
The institutes will be designed to:
- Support African migration scholars to embrace theory building, engagement with migration/social theory, and the knowledge politics associated with migration research in Africa. Participants will benefit from rigorous theoretical and methodological foundations in inter-disciplinary migration studies in addition to disciplinary perspectives from resource persons.
- Offer practical professional advice/professional development including: academic publishing; project management; organising and managing data; consulting colleagues and others in the field; and the risks and benefits of interdisciplinary work in an academic universe still largely organised in disciplinary formations.
- Provide mentorship and peer support by facilitating engagements between doctoral students, early career researchers and established academics both virtually and in-person. These structures will provide support for the required outputs associated with the institutes, including written work; presentation skills; and the development of professional CVs and online profiles.
Research visits/exchanges: The Academy will fund various activities for established and early career researchers. Funds will be awarded on a competitive basis, and will be assessed by a review panel made up on their planned activities and outputs. Preference will be given to proposals aiming to support research capacity building and strengthening of the intellectual project for migration research in Africa. All proposals will need to demonstrate collaboration/partnership building as a central activity.
- one-week visits for established researchers to travel to another institution to undertake teaching/supervision/research exchanges;
- one-month visiting postdoctoral fellowships; and
- symposiums and/or proposal development workshops to support the establishment of new research partnerships.
(1) Four 'institutes' to provide capacity building for doctoral students and early-career researchers who are a maximum of 3-years post-PhD, to refine their research focus and promote professional development and scholarly contributions.
(2) A series of research visits/exchanges for established academics and postdoctoral fellows to support building research capacity and strengthening the intellectual project for migration research in Africa.
The Academy currently includes seven institutions in 5 countries [TBC]. Applications for the institutes will be accepted from doctoral students and early-career researchers from any African institute.
1. University of Addis Ababa and/or OSSREA, Ethiopia
2. University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana
3. Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
4. Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo, Mozambique
5. University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa
6. University of Cape Town, South Africa
7. University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Institutes: A series of four 'institutes' will be held at different locations across the ARUA network, each focusing on a different thematic area: migration and urbanization; migration, health and wellbeing; belonging, difference and diaspora; and, the knowledge politics of migration research in Africa. These institutes will also incorporate professional development training, including the development of peer-support and mentorship mechanisms. A final event will be held in the final/third year. This will take the form of a conference for early career researchers and postgraduate students - including those who have participated in the institutes - working on migration and mobility in Africa.
The institutes will be designed to:
- Support African migration scholars to embrace theory building, engagement with migration/social theory, and the knowledge politics associated with migration research in Africa. Participants will benefit from rigorous theoretical and methodological foundations in inter-disciplinary migration studies in addition to disciplinary perspectives from resource persons.
- Offer practical professional advice/professional development including: academic publishing; project management; organising and managing data; consulting colleagues and others in the field; and the risks and benefits of interdisciplinary work in an academic universe still largely organised in disciplinary formations.
- Provide mentorship and peer support by facilitating engagements between doctoral students, early career researchers and established academics both virtually and in-person. These structures will provide support for the required outputs associated with the institutes, including written work; presentation skills; and the development of professional CVs and online profiles.
Research visits/exchanges: The Academy will fund various activities for established and early career researchers. Funds will be awarded on a competitive basis, and will be assessed by a review panel made up on their planned activities and outputs. Preference will be given to proposals aiming to support research capacity building and strengthening of the intellectual project for migration research in Africa. All proposals will need to demonstrate collaboration/partnership building as a central activity.
- one-week visits for established researchers to travel to another institution to undertake teaching/supervision/research exchanges;
- one-month visiting postdoctoral fellowships; and
- symposiums and/or proposal development workshops to support the establishment of new research partnerships.
Planned Impact
This proposal is designed to support the goal of the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) to enhance research and graduate training in member universities through a number of channels, including through Centres of Excellence (CoEs). The CoE on Migration and Mobility is a focal point for providing opportunities for graduate students from the region to build their research and professional development skills, and to support the development of collaborative research between institutions on the continent. Key impacts relate to building research capacity and professional development amongst the next generation of African migration scholars. These impacts will be achieved through a set of objectives, outlined below:
Building research capacity of the next generation of African migration scholars
- Foster more theoretically informed work on migration and mobility in Africa
- Incubate a network of emerging African scholars deeply connected to peers and colleagues across the continent, and with other global contexts
- Increase the visibility of African scholars in the scholarly/theoretically informed literature on migration in Africa
Supporting professional development of the next generation of African migration scholars
- Build professional development skills, including in teaching, supervision, writing research proposals, project management, peer reviewing, building professional CVs and online profiles
- Creating peer support and mentorship opportunities, including the pairing of doctoral students with ECRs and established academics
- Develop online resources and a networking platform
The proposed activities will enhance the impact of the project and deliver benefit directly to participating researchers and to the involved institutions. The needs of partner institutions will be reflected in the finalisation of the project workplan and in the development of the content of each Institute. The project will have a long-lasting and transformative impact by supporting the professional development and research capacity of the next generation of African migration scholars. These scholars will benefit from improved skills training and networking with other institutions across the continent. This will, as a result, support the development of research partnerships, including in the joint writing of collaborative research proposals that will be submitted for funding to relevant authorities.
Building research capacity of the next generation of African migration scholars
- Foster more theoretically informed work on migration and mobility in Africa
- Incubate a network of emerging African scholars deeply connected to peers and colleagues across the continent, and with other global contexts
- Increase the visibility of African scholars in the scholarly/theoretically informed literature on migration in Africa
Supporting professional development of the next generation of African migration scholars
- Build professional development skills, including in teaching, supervision, writing research proposals, project management, peer reviewing, building professional CVs and online profiles
- Creating peer support and mentorship opportunities, including the pairing of doctoral students with ECRs and established academics
- Develop online resources and a networking platform
The proposed activities will enhance the impact of the project and deliver benefit directly to participating researchers and to the involved institutions. The needs of partner institutions will be reflected in the finalisation of the project workplan and in the development of the content of each Institute. The project will have a long-lasting and transformative impact by supporting the professional development and research capacity of the next generation of African migration scholars. These scholars will benefit from improved skills training and networking with other institutions across the continent. This will, as a result, support the development of research partnerships, including in the joint writing of collaborative research proposals that will be submitted for funding to relevant authorities.
People |
ORCID iD |
Joanna Vearey (Principal Investigator) |
Publications
De Gruchy T
(2019)
After the handover: Exploring MSF's role in the provision of health care to migrant farm workers in Musina, South Africa.
in Global public health
Mahlangu P
(2019)
Towards a framework for multisector and multilevel collaboration: case of HIV and AIDS governance in South Africa.
in Global health action
Vearey J
(2019)
Urban health in Africa: a critical global public health priority.
in BMC public health
Vanyoro KP
(2019)
'When they come, we don't send them back': counter-narratives of 'medical xenophobia' in South Africa's public health care system.
in Palgrave communications
Yingwana N
(2019)
Sex Work, Migration, and Human Trafficking in South Africa: From polarised arguments to potential partnerships
in Anti-Trafficking Review
Vearey J
(2019)
Building alliances for the global governance of migration and health.
in BMJ (Clinical research ed.)
Vanyoro KP
(2019)
Local ownership of health policy and systems research in low-income and middle-income countries: a missing element in the uptake debate.
in BMJ global health
Vearey J
(2020)
International Encyclopedia of Human Geography
Stasiulis D
(2020)
Migration, Intersectionality and Social Justice (Guest Editors' Introduction)
in Studies in Social Justice
De Gruchy T
(2020)
Responding to the health needs of migrant farm workers in South Africa: Opportunities and challenges for sustainable community-based responses.
in Health & social care in the community
Mosca D
(2020)
Universal Health Coverage: Ensuring migrants and migration are included
in Global Social Policy
Moyo K
(2020)
Transnational Habitus and Sociability in the City: Zimbabwean Migrants' Experiences in Johannesburg, South Africa
in Gender Questions
Gruchy T
(2020)
"Left behind": why implementing migration-aware responses to HIV for migrant farm workers is a priority for South Africa.
in African journal of AIDS research : AJAR
Oliveira E
(2020)
The Seductive Nature of Participatory Research: Reflecting on More than a Decade of Work with Marginalized Migrants in South Africa
in Migration Letters
Manji K
(2021)
Using WhatsApp messenger for health systems research: a scoping review of available literature.
in Health policy and planning
Vearey J
(2021)
Global health (security), immigration governance and Covid-19 in South(ern) Africa: An evolving research agenda.
in Journal of migration and health
De Gruchy T
(2021)
Research on the move: exploring WhatsApp as a tool for understanding the intersections between migration, mobility, health and gender in South Africa.
in Globalization and health
De Gruchy T
(2022)
Left behind: why South Africa must develop migration-aware responses to COVID-19 and future pandemics
in South African Health Review
Walker R
(2022)
"Let's manage the stressor today" exploring the mental health response to forced migrants in Johannesburg, South Africa
in International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care
Matlin SA
(2022)
The Challenge of Reaching Undocumented Migrants with COVID-19 Vaccination.
in International journal of environmental research and public health
Bisnauth MA
(2022)
Providing HIV Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) Services to Migrants During the COVID-19 Pandemic in South Africa: Insights of Healthcare Providers.
in Health services insights
De Gruchy T
(2022)
Framing Migration During the Covid-19 Pandemic in South Africa: A 12-Month Media Monitoring Project
in Media and Communication
Vanyoro K
(2022)
Suspicious bodies: anti-citizens and biomedical anarchists in South Africa's public health care system
in Anthropology Southern Africa
Description | The African Academy for Migration Research (AAMR) has two overarching aims: (1) to build the research capacity of the next generation of African migration scholars (2) to support the professional development of the next generation of African migration scholars. These aims will be achieved through a series of activities, including regional thematic institutes, local workshops and individual research visits/exchanges. These events will be held across the continent to ensure an equitable distribution of resources and opportunities. Our original application proposed four in-person institutes as the centrepiece of the AAMR. These intensive weeklong engagements would have brought together established and emerging scholars from across the continent for knowledge exchange in key thematic areas. Given the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, it is unlikely we will be able to move ahead with this plan, at least in the foreseeable future. Thus, we aim to deliver the first two institutes via an appropriate online communication platform. We believe it is critical that the institutes remain a central feature of the AAMR. Indeed, there is arguably even more urgency in hosting these types of regional engagements. For example, in there current geopolitical moment, there is demonstrable need for stronger research in the field of migration and health. As such, we propose that the first two institutes - that is, the institute on migration and health and the institute on migration and urbanisation - be organised as virtual engagements, while the feasibility of the two remaining institutes will be determined in mid-2021. Delivering these institutes virtually will free up a significant amount of money previously allocated to international travel and accommodation. We propose that some of these funds be redirected to the development of an online learning and resource hub. This portal will not only assist in the delivery of future AAMR activities, but also provide a sustainable support mechanism for migration scholars once the current ARUA financing expires. The portal will serve two key functions: first, it will serve as a centralised learning platform available for use by AAMR core partners and other migration scholars; second, it will serve as a repository for training and learning tools. Making resources available in this way will help to publicise the work and achievements of the AAMR, while also supporting the development of migration studies on the continent more broadly. Some of the materials available on the portal will be developed directly by AAMR grant holders, while others may be produced through a partnership with specialised agencies and/or service providers (for example, SciDev.net). Whether delivered in person or virtually, the AAMR institutes will have the same objectives: • To facilitate peer-learning through interactive engagements between participants from different research contexts • To build capacity of participants (for example, by having senior scholars mentor emerging researchers • To produce (popular) publications that can be shared on the AAMR's learning and resource platform. |
Exploitation Route | We are piloting the online modality for the first institute that will start in July 2021. We anticipate that the lessons learned will be of relevance to others. This is particularly relevant when thinking about contexts where the 'digital divide' is a real challenge, as is the case across the African continent. Our mode of training includes both synchronous and asynchronous interventions, options for 'audio only' downloads v's video, and ensuring time for as much asynchronous engagement in advance of concentrated online collective discussions. All materials generated for the research and professional development training will be open access and shared via a dedicated online portal. The institutes and all training materials will be shared as complete modules to allow for independent study. |
Sectors | Other |
URL | https://arua.org.za/centres-of-excellence/arua-coe-in-migration-and-mobility/ |
Description | (un)Healthy movement in southern Africa: towards improved responses to communicable diseases. |
Amount | £692,642 (GBP) |
Funding ID | 104868 |
Organisation | Wellcome Trust |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 02/2016 |
End | 02/2020 |
Description | Partnership with African Universities |
Organisation | Addis Ababa University |
Country | Ethiopia |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Addis Ababa University is a partner in this project. |
Collaborator Contribution | Addis Ababa University is a partner in this project and has been involved in the development of the proposal and the project, including both thematic and administrative input. |
Impact | The AAMR. |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Partnership with African Universities |
Organisation | Makerere University |
Country | Uganda |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Makerere is a partner in the project. |
Collaborator Contribution | Makerere is a partner in the project. Individuals provide thematic and advisory inputs and have been involved in the development of the project and its implementation. |
Impact | Development of AAMR. |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Partnership with African Universities |
Organisation | University of Cape Town |
Country | South Africa |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | The University of Cape Town is a partner in the project. |
Collaborator Contribution | The University of Cape Town is a partner in the project and has been involved in the development of the proposal and the project implementation, including in both thematic and administrative areas. |
Impact | The AAMR. |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Partnership with African Universities |
Organisation | University of Ghana |
Country | Ghana |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | The University of Ghana is a partner in this grant. |
Collaborator Contribution | Members of the University of Ghana's Centre for Migration Studies are partners in the grant. Individuals provide thematic and advisory inputs and have been involved in the development of the project and its implementation. |
Impact | Development of the AAMR |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Partnership with African Universities |
Organisation | University of the Western Cape |
Country | South Africa |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | The University of the Western Cape is a partner in this project. |
Collaborator Contribution | The University of the Western Cape provides thematic and advisory inputs and has been involved in the development of the project and its implementation. |
Impact | The AAMR. |
Start Year | 2018 |