Panel proposal “Forced Migration and Displacement in Higher Education: Structuring a Conversation”

Contemporary geopolitical instability and deepening global inequalities are reshaping academic and scientific landscape in profound ways (Shchepetylnykova & Kaya-Kaşıkcı, 2025). While universities pursue internationalization for prestige and competition, and as an alternative revenue source, the presence of forcibly displaced scholars and students on campuses demands a more critical, inward-looking conversation. In an act of collective reflexivity, it urges academia to move beyond metrics and market-driven goals to reflect on the ethical responsibilities of institutions (Marginson, 2018; Jones et al., 2022).

Academic mobility has traditionally been considered an example of voluntary mobility, shaped by professional/educational aspirations and institutional opportunities (Brunner et al, 2023). However, this view fails to account for the growing number of individuals who are forced to leave their country or are unable to return due to generalized conflicts or targeted persecution (Cantat et al., 2022; Mazzero, 2025). Their experiences are marked by legal and economic precarity, interrupted educational or academic career trajectories, and the loss of institutional belonging (Akkad, 2025; Gallo, 2024).

This panel thus has a twofold aim. First, it explores and gives visibility to the migratory and educational experiences of forcibly displaced scholars and students. Second, it sheds light on how forced migration and displacement challenge our traditional understanding of internationalisation, more specifically, higher education and academic mobility. In doing so, it comprehensively considers the perspective of both forcibly displaced scholars and students as distinct yet interconnected components of the phenomenon.

We welcome theoretical, empirical, and policy-oriented contributions from various disciplines (such as sociology, anthropology, geography, education, law) critically addressing questions such as:

• How do forcibly displaced scholars and students navigate precarity, rebuild networks, and sustain academic identities within and beyond traditional institutions?
• What theoretical challenges in the field of migration and education are opened up by the presence of forcibly displaced scholars and students in higher education?
• What role can higher education institutions play in fostering epistemic justice and institutional transformation in response to forced migration? And what are their ethical responsibilities?
• In what ways do current internationalization strategies in higher education account for (or fail to account for) the realities of forced migration?
• What are the methodological and ethical challenges of studying forced migration and displacement in higher education? What innovative methods could address them?
• How can research produce narratives, interventions and policies that can contribute to a more inclusive academic environment for forcibly displaced scholars and students?

Please submit a 250-words abstract by September 12th, 2025 to:
Cristina Mazzero (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Thais França (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)