The 2024-2025 cohort of double degree students and coordinators met for the kick-off conference on 3-6 November 2024, hosted by Linköping University in Sweden.
The students were welcomed by the coordinator of the MA in Ethnic and Migration Studies, Claudia Tazreiter, and the head of the Department of Research on Migration, Ethnicity and Society (REMESO), Stefan Jonsson. After a full day of questions and expectations about the double degree programme, the conference participants were taken on a "Postcolonial City Tour", organised by Sara Ferrigno, Gus Sorata Watanabe and Kenna Sim, which showed remnants of colonial power relations in the middle of the post-industrial city of Norrköping. On the second day, the students received feedback on their MA project ideas, and REMESO fellows Anders Neergard, Karin Krifors, Peo Hansen and Ellen Rahm presented their ongoing research. The third and final day was dedicated to career opportunities in ethnic and migration studies, where a distinguished panel answered intriguing questions from the moderator, Gus Sorata Watanabe, and the engaged audience. The panel included: Anna Ekermo Tagesson (Regional Integration Developer, Sweden), Jens Schneider (Researcher, University of Osnabrück), Martin Nyman (Senior Legal Advisor, Civil Rights Defenders), Agnes Zieger (Project Coordinator and former EuMIGS double degree student) and Anna Åhdal (Postdoctoral Researcher & Visual Artist, Linköping University & Royal Institute of Art). In addition to the academic exchange, the conference included several social gatherings and laid the groundwork for what we hope will be a great experience of our programme.
