Research meeting of the Section of Knowledge, Transformation, and Society (KiTeS), University of Twente, with guest-researcher Marie-Agnès Détourbe, who will give a presentation followed by questions and discussion. For more information please contact the KiTeS secretariat. You are welcome!
abstract
Forcibly displaced students do not fit into the neoliberal framework that governs most contemporary higher education systems. They often exist in liminal spaces, caught between the administrative categories of ‘domestic’ and ‘international’ students, and have limited citizenship rights. These students face systemic exclusions throughout their educational journeys, as the structures of higher education tend to overlook or underappreciate the unique barriers they encounter, such as bureaucratic obstacles, limited access to financial resources, and a lack of recognition of their previous educational credentials. This exclusion not only restricts their access to educational opportunities but also marginalizes their potential contributions to the academic community and society.
The issue is all the more critical as forced migration has reached unprecedented numbers in recent decades, resulting in a dramatic increase in asylum-seekers and refugees worldwide. While numerous bottom-up initiatives and global frameworks highlight the importance of this issue, a growing body of research underscores the societal and institutional barriers that hinder these students from accessing and thriving in higher education. As a result, forcibly displaced students are caught in a cycle of marginalization which reinforces the power imbalances inherent in the structures of higher education.
Special journal issue
Marie-Agnes will edit a special journal issue seeking to reimagine the university, putting forward hospitality as a way for universities to foster and cultivate alternative visions of the future through reciprocal dynamics. It seeks to bring together researchers, practitioners and students with diverse experiential and scientific backgrounds to explore various dimensions of the hospitable university. During her stay she will further explain this initiative, in which she is also happy to engage with KiTeS researchers to see if they can contribute.
Our honorable guest Marie-Agnès Détourbe is a Professor in International Comparative Higher Education at the University of Toulouse (INSA Toulouse), France. Her research focuses on the issue of access to higher education for students with a forced migration background, mostly from an international comparative perspective. Her approach is deeply interdisciplinary, as she believes such a complex issue requires both a plurality of voices and a combination of disciplinary insights. Her current work includes a (soon to be started) European project on the democratic role of universities, and a publication project through which she aims to explore the concept of the hospitable university, underpinned by transformative and mutually-beneficial dynamics.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marie-Agnes-Detourbe/research
