We are pleased to announce the launch of Migration Research Wales. This is a new research network convened by Dr Catrin Wyn Edwards and Rhys Dafydd Jones (both Aberystwyth University). It is committed to developing research capacity, and encouraging dialogue between academics at Welsh institutions and between academics and practitioners.
Migration is a theme that that has run through several WISERD and related projects, but interactions and exchange between these studies have been limited to date. The network will facilitate interactions between researchers and migration research centres at Welsh institutions (and those elsewhere examining migration in Wales) and between academics at these institutions and stakeholders and practitioners working with migrants and on issues affecting migrants to, in, and from Wales. The network builds on – rather than duplicates – work undertaken in existing research centres and encourages collaboration between researchers across institutions to provide a national focus for migration research.
The network is committed to developing research capacity. Events are planned around developing emerging and early career research and supporting early career researchers, including online conferences for PhD students and early career researchers, and workshops around innovative and creative methodologies for migration research. Alongside the launch and keynote lecture in July 2021, we will also be holding an online session on ‘achieving impact beyond research’ in the autumn.
The network will encourage dialogue between migration researchers and stakeholders and practitioners in the field, with the aim of ensuring that our research contributes to and shapes evidence-based policy-making in migration governance. We plan to hold a series of online sessions will be held by colleagues across Wales who have experience of influencing policy in Wales and beyond.
