The Geographic Migration Centre (GEOMIGRACE) is one of the research teams within the Department of Social Geography and Regional Development at the Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Czechia. While collaborative research activities predate its formal establishment, the Centre was officially founded in 2009 and has since developed into an established hub for migration research in Central Europe and beyond.
GEOMIGRACE focuses primarily on international migration and the integration of migrants and refugees in destination countries, with particular emphasis on Czechia and the broader Central European region, including research on the Czech diaspora and transnational ties. At the same time, the Centre increasingly engages with development-related perspectives that situate migration (both internal and international) and immobility within wider socio-economic, environmental, and spatial transformations, particularly in the Global South.
Empirically, the Centre’s work spans labour and refugee migration and integration, public attitudes toward migrants, internal mobility, and the spatial distribution and segregation of immigrant populations. Recent research has also examined the arrival and incorporation of Ukrainian war refugees within broader regional and labour market contexts. Alongside this regional focus, collaborative projects in Africa and Asia — particularly in India and Ethiopia, and more recently Zambia and Kenya — explore how migration and immobility intersect with environmental change, development trajectories, urbanisation, and access to basic services. These comparative engagements contribute to geographically grounded understandings of migration–development dynamics across diverse contexts.
Key research areas
Current core research themes include:
- Migration-development nexus: Relations between migration and development.
- Financial and social remittances.
- Environmental migration.
- Mobility and immobility of rural populations in Africa.
- Impact of development interventions on migration.
- Public attitudes toward migration and migrants.
- Spatial distribution of immigrants and spatial segregation.
- Integration of foreigners in Czechia.
- The Czech diaspora.
Team and approach
GEOMIGRACE is a compact research team composed primarily of geographers, including core faculty members, doctoral and master’s students, and alumni. The team works closely with external collaborators from academia and practice, enriching its interdisciplinary perspective and strengthening links between research and policy.
While inherently interdisciplinary, the Centre maintains a strong geographical perspective, focusing on spatial dimensions, contextual factors, and uneven development shaping migration processes. Moving beyond descriptive monitoring, current activities emphasize analysis of mechanisms, conditions, and impacts of migration and integration. A hallmark of the Centre’s work is the use of mixed-method approaches that combine quantitative and qualitative data to capture both structural patterns and lived experiences of mobility.
GEOMIGRACE also founded and largely operates the specialised MSc programme Global Migration and Development Studies, which brings together students from diverse backgrounds and fosters critical engagement with migration, development, and global inequalities. The programme contributes to capacity building and strengthens the Centre’s academic profile.
Funding and collaboration
Research conducted within the Centre is supported by a range of national and international funding bodies, including the Czech Science Foundation (GAČR), the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TAČR), the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic, UNHCR, IOM, NATO, the European Commission, the Johannes Amos Comenius Programme (OP JAC), and the Visegrad Fund. The Centre also collaborates with non-governmental organisations and civil society partners, including Slovo 21 and People in Need, linking academic research with policy and practice.
The team maintains extensive international networks and collaborates with partners across Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia. Research findings are regularly published in leading domestic and international peer-reviewed journals, and the team has authored several specialised monographs.
Public engagement and IMISCOE
GEOMIGRACE is committed to disseminating research findings beyond academia and contributing to informed public debates on migration and development. Under its auspices, the Faculty of Science hosts the annual Summer School on Migration Studies, attracting approximately 80–90 participants from around the world and fostering international dialogue among early-career researchers and practitioners.
Since 2012, GEOMIGRACE has been a member of the IMISCOE network. Team members regularly participate in IMISCOE Annual Conferences and contribute to several Standing Committees, including Migrant Transnationalism, Forced Migration and Refugees, Migration, Migrants and Labour Markets, and Migration Politics and Governance. Looking ahead, the team seeks to further strengthen dialogue within IMISCOE on the interconnections between migration, development, and broader socio-spatial transformations shaping contemporary mobility.