The Erasmus Migration & Diversity Institute (EMDI)
Migration and migration-related diversity raise theoretical and multidisciplinary questions. How do mobility and health issues interact, what is the relation between migration-related diversity and inequality, how does migration impact on cohesion, what are the implications of mobility and diversity for political and legal regimes? Scholars from various departments of Erasmus University Rotterdam have decided to work together in order to address such cross-disciplinary questions raised by migration and diversity. They started the Erasmus Migration and Diversity Institute (EMDI), which is unique as its main objective is to deepen cross-disciplinary collaboration in research on migration and diversity and to position EUR in the rapidly developing international field of migration research. The institute support the Erasmus Initiatives (EI) and will also host the network office of IMISCOE, Europe’s largest network of academic research institutes on migration.
The central ambition of EMDI is to develop a better theoretical understanding of how mobility and diversity are changing contemporary societies and to contribute to the development of professional interventions particularly in urban settings. The establishment of EMDI provides a unique possibility to respond to the new opportunities offered in the national and international funding environment regarding migration and to jointly develop research-related activities in the fields of education and competency building.
Although EUR hosts a large number of migration researchers, their work on migration and diversity has thus far remained highly fragmented over various disciplines and departments. The goal of EMDI is to promote academic excellence of EUR scholars by bringing scholars from various disciplines together, promoting synergies and enhancing the visibility of migration and diversity research in the international academic environment. With the concentration of top scholars in the field of migration and ethnic studies working across different disciplines in Rotterdam, we have established one of the leading migration institutes in Europe. Key research topics for EMDI will be:
- Migration & Social Cohesion
- Migration, diversity and healthy development
- Governance and management of migration and diversity
- Culture & Identity
EMDI is an unique and open network in which any EUR scholar, who is interested in migration and diversity, can participate. To this aim, EMDI will host a series of multidisciplinary meetings to present new research ideas as well as develop new research together. Furthermore, EMDI aims to deepen collaboration between EUR faculties in terms of education. This includes the LDE Master Governance of Migration & Diversity, a minor program on Migration & Diversity as well as collaboration in the context of regular courses.