PhD Vacancy, “Mobility in Context: Migration Trajectories in a Border Region Context”

Maastricht University has recently founded a new Institute for Transnational and Euregional Cross Border Cooperation and Mobility (ITEM). ITEM is an initiative developed by the interfaculty Maastricht Centre for Citizenship, Migration and Development (MACIMIDE), in cooperation with the province of Limburg and the municipality of Maastricht as part of the “Limburg Knowledge/Axis” cooperation. Within the scope of MACIMIDE researchers of various UM faculties collaborate closely in the research fields of migration and development issues, citizenship, nationality and integration, international family relationships, European and international immigration law and right of asylum, work mobility, social security, tax law and pensions. The goal of ITEM is to increase cross-border mobility and to analyse the functioning of a regional labour market in the Maas-Rhine Euregion. ITEM aims to achieve these goals by means of research, consultancy, education, training and expert meetings.

This PhD project analyses the migration trajectories of immigrants in a border region context, with a specific focus on the province of Limburg. In the project we analyse the mobility pathways among migrants once they arrive in the destination context; whereas some stay, others move on, to another region in the Netherlands or abroad and, finally, again others may migrate, but return afterwards, or find themselves in an in-between cross-border life situation. We look at various types of immigrants, ranging from students, highly-skilled and unskilled labour migrants, family migrants and refugees, coming both from within the European Union and beyond.

The project focuses on migration trajectories in the context of individual life courses, legal status transitions (such as citizenship acquisition) and economic and demographic characteristics of border regions. Furthermore, we look at the relevance of contextual factors at municipality or neighbourhood level to determine whether social capital (e.g., social contacts, participation in society, institutional trust) influences why some municipalities are more successful in ‘binding’ immigrants than others. The project employs a quantitative methodology, analyzing longitudinal register and survey data from Netherlands on foreign-born residents and natives with a focus on comparing municipalities within Limburg and within other regions in the Netherlands.

The PhD project involves scientific collaboration with Statistics Netherlands.

Eligibility

• A sociologist or demographer with an MSc degree and with affinity for the relation between public policy and society, or a political scientist with a strong interest in sociology and demography.
• The successful candidate will have a strong background in statistical research methods.

Conditions of employment

• The University offers a dynamic and challenging job in an internationally-oriented organisation where young people receive an advanced education and scholars conduct exciting research.
• They offer a 4 year full-time appointment as PhD student.
• The first year will be a probation period, after a positive assessment the position will be extended with another 3 years.
• Your workload will be the normal workload for the position of PhD students. Currently this implies 80% research activities en 20% teaching activities.
• You will be employed by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Compensation will be according to standard salary levels for PhD students starting with a salary of € 2.125,- with a yearly growth to € 2.717,- gross a month (based on a full-time appointment.)
• Each year the standard salary is supplemented with a holiday allowance of 8% and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.
• You have to be willing to move to (the vicinity of) Maastricht. If you do not already live in Maastricht (or its direct surroundings) you will be eligible for an allowance for moving costs. If you do not already live in Maastricht (or its direct surroundings) you might be eligible for an allowance for alternative housing.
• Other secondary conditions include e.g. a pension scheme and partially paid parental leave. You will be provided with shared office space and a PC.
•  Contract type: Temporary, 4 years

Application

Deadline for application is 15 September 2015.

Any inquiries about the position or the project may be addressed to:
Prof. Maarten Vink m.vink@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Prof. Hans Schmeets h.schmeets@cbs.nl

For more information please visit the official website.