The Center for Migration and Societal Change - Eurac Research, in Bozen/Bolzano, Italy, is now accepting applications for its PhD Workshop from 3 to 7 May 2027.
Titled Rethinking knowledge production, the workshop will explore participatory approaches to migration research, including co-production of knowledge throughout the research cycle and the challenges of working with smaller and often overlooked communities.
The workshop is primarily intended for PhD students, though advanced master’s students, practitioners and policymakers with a strong interest in participatory migration research are also welcome to apply
📆 Apply by 15 December 2026!
What the Workshop will be about
The workshop aims to guide PhD students and participants with other profiles in critically exploring participatory knowledge making in the field of so-called “migration studies”. Inspired by decolonial, antiracist, and other critical approaches, this intensive training concentrates on the praxes of knowledge re- and co-production and the connected questions of methods, ethics, positionality and reciprocity when engaging with people in so-called “migration research” - e.g., marginalized and hard-to-reach individuals, as well as variously defined local groups and communities. Importantly, we engage with these questions by transcending the boundaries between data collection and dissemination, thus considering the full knowledge production cycle – from research design to research outputs.
Building on the strengths of Eurac Research and the Center for Migration and Societal Change, and its collaborations with national and international partners, the workshop will focus on doing research on and with communities and contexts that are often neglected in migration scholarship, such as rural, peripheral, and peri-urban spaces with their heterogeneous publics. Through transdisciplinary dialogues with scholars and practitioners, participants will learn about ways to render their knowledge actionable for societal and policy impact. They will also be encouraged to reflect on the pitfalls and limitations of these endeavors, for instance, as they relate to the uneven distribution of power, resources, and authority in the field of migration studies.
Activities and Topics
The training program will delve into three interrelated core themes:
Doing participatory “migration research” in (relatively) small communities - Most research on migration-related topics takes place in urban and metropolitan contexts, or around key spots in the apparatuses of migration governance (e.g. at the border, in detention and reception centers). Yet, due to urban housing shortages, asylum dispersal policies, and demands for cheap labor, today a significant portion of (racialized) migrant populations inhabits and/or transits through peripheral, rural and small-town areas. Moreover, it is often in these socio-spatial contexts that exposure to migration-related diversity and the politicization of migration occur, making them particularly relevant sites for the co-production and circulation of knowledge(s). In the workshop, we will discuss some of the challenges, opportunities, and political stakes of doing research in these contexts as opposed to other sites that are over-represented in research and theory-making.
(Co)Production along the whole knowledge cycle - There is abundant literature discussing participatory approaches in the various phases of research – from study design to dissemination. However, these phases are often dealt with separately, as if they were distinct compartments within a single research endeavor. In the workshop, we will approach these phases as intertwined steps in the process of re- and co-producing knowledge(s). Through input from speakers across various disciplines, we will reflect on the challenges of co-designing recruitment tools, research topics, and dissemination strategies in contexts marked by uneven distributions of resources as well as by intense polarization around migration-related issues.
Promises and pitfalls of participatory research on “migration” (and beyond) - The use of participatory methods and, among them, of co-production, has become almost a must in the field of critical migration studies. While drawing from these approaches, the workshop invites participants to reflect on issues that remain unaddressed when participatory methods are adopted without engaging and/or subverting the underlying political economy of knowledge production. Here we try to address blind spots and limitations which include, for instance, issues of authorship and authority, linguistic capital, and uneven reciprocity with interlocutors and communities.
This workshop is open to 25 participants. While the workshop is primarily designed for PhD students, we also welcome applications from advanced master's students, practitioners and policymakers with a strong interest in critically operationalizing participatory and inclusive approaches to migration-related research.
Planned Activities
Rather than following a conventional top-down lecture format, the PhD workshop is designed horizontally, with participants actively contributing to its content and activities. Formats will include:
Co-designed session(s) shaped and facilitated by participants themselves - In the lead-up to the school, interested participants will be invited to propose, both individually and as a collective, a topic, method, or provocation related to knowledge making in migration studies. Proposals will then be developed into a participant-led session (input + discussion) to be held during the workshop.
Field trip (local engagement) - Organized in collaboration with local NGOs and activists, this field trip will take participants beyond the seminar room to engage directly with people who inhabit and navigate the landscape of migration governance and refugee reception in South Tyrol. It will offer a grounded counterpoint to the school's theoretical discussions, allowing participants to observe and engage with actual praxes of knowledge production.
World Café - A rotating small-group discussion format in which participants and invited speakers move between thematic tables - e.g., positionality, reciprocity, ethics of dissemination, actionable knowledge, etc. - to build a collective, cross-pollinated reflection on the core questions of the workshop. The World Café format aims to unsettle conventional, top-down transmission of knowledge, redistributing authorship across the room.
How to Apply
To apply, we kindly ask you to fill in this form.
Please prepare in advance:
- CV (up to 2 pages recommended)
- Research interest: How does your background align with the topic of the Workshop (max. 250 words)
- Motivation statement: Explain why you are drawn to the Workshop and what do you expect to gain from your participation (max. 250 words)
- Bursary justification (only if applying for financial support): explain why you would benefit from financial assistance (max. 150 words)
Please consider that the number of grants is limited; therefore, priority for bursaries will be given to applicants from under-resourced institutions, non-OECD countries, and those facing systemic barriers to academic participation, such as racial or ethnic discrimination, gender inequality, disability-related exclusion, limited access to research funding, visa restrictions, or political instability in their home countries.
The decisions regarding acceptance will be communicated to the participants in mid-January 2027.
Learn more about the workshop here!
Eurac Research is an IMISCOE Member Institute. Learn more about it here!