Call for Papers: International Conference-International Student Migration

School of International Relations and Politics
Mahatma Gandhi University

Call for Papers

International Conference 

International Student Migration: Aspirations, Apprehensions and Effects

Conference Date: July 07 – 08, 2023

Concept Note

The data from UNESCO Institute of Statistics shows that the number of tertiary level students migrating to other countries for education has been steeply increasing over the last decade. In the Indian context, the numbers published by the Ministry of External Affairs in the last four years also show the rise in number of students migrating out of the country.

The SDG IV aims at ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education. It also emphasizes lifelong learning opportunities. Just as it is the right of every young person to pursue the best quality education that they can get, it is also the responsibility of the states to provide standard educational facilities for their young citizens. Nevertheless, youngsters are ensured of multi-dimensional milieus when they get opportunities to study in different socio-cultural environs. It is pertinent to see this phenomenon in the context of transnational migration policy initiatives like the Global Compact on Migration.

But are there any guarantees of rights for these students who come to study in a faraway place in such a young age? What happens when the host country keeps changing their migration policies with their current national interests? And what governs the aspirations of young students in the global south to take up programs offered in western universities? Is it only the attractiveness of a foreign university, an international exposure, and quality of life abroad that they aspire for? Or does it also become a desperate decision, with a dissatisfaction in the education/social systems of their home nations, and hopelessness in its economy to equip them with a decent career.

It is these questions that the conference hopes to discuss. Topics of Interest can be broadly listed as below:

i. Theorising International Student Migration
ii. Drivers of International Student Migration
iii. Student Migration – Indian Context/ Kerala context
iv. International Education: Youth Aspirations and Apprehensions
v. Managing work – study tensions
vi. Contextualising student migration in international conventions and agreements
vii. Credit and Aid, Repayment, and Remittances
viii. Social and cultural impacts of student migration
ix. Gender questions in International Student Migration

Selected papers will be considered for publication after expert review
For any queries regarding the program, please contact: Adarsh Ciril (+91 9349773403)
Conference Convener: Dr Bijulal M. V