International bilingual conference

University of Turku, Finland

21-23.9.2006

Academic Mobility: Blending Perspectives

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About the conference (in English)

About the conference (in Finnish)

Conference description:

Academic mobility is growing year after year. University staff, students, researchers and officers in higher education are increasingly traveling Europe and the world as part of their work or studies. In Europe, several EU programs have proved to be successful within the European countries and are now extending to the whole world (ex: Erasmus Mundus). Yet, few studies are available on the hypermodern mobile academic individuals. What is known of the lives of these new strangers (Murphy-Lejeune)? How do they deal with their daily lives? What sort of relationships do they develop? What about the competences they develop while abroad? Do they alter their views on their own foreignness and that of the others? In what way do their experiences differ from those of normal migrants?

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Target audience:

Teaching staff involved in student mobility, researchers in higher/international education, graduate/postgraduate students, international educators, administrators in charge of mobility programs, policy makers, directors and staff in international offices, Erasmus/Socrates offices.

Aim of the conference:

The main aim of the conference is to provide a multidisciplinary forum for discussing the actors of academic mobility. Papers are welcomed from linguistics, education, anthropology, sociology, psychology, geography and educational policy, among others.

Other aims include:

- To promote debate and reflection in the existing information and research in academic mobility andrelated fields;

- To raise awareness within higher education regarding academic mobility;

- To identify needs in home and host institutions;

- To improve administrative, intercultural and teaching experiences of staff;

- To support academic mobility;

- To establish research networks on academic mobility.

Conference themes:

- Categories of mobile /non-mobile individuals in higher education

- Daily lives

- Identification (ex : national, European, Erasmus identities)

- Mobile academics' representations (of themselves, the EU, of their home countries, their hosts, etc.)

- Learning (foreign language acquisition, intercultural competence)

- Challenges (student support)

- Virtual academic mobility

- Long-term effects of academic mobility

- Representations on academic mobility (in the media, with locals)

Partner Institutions:

- Department of French, University of Turku, Finland

- International Office, University of Turku, Finland

- Department of anthropology, University of Stockholm, Sweden

- Escola Superior de Educacao Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal

- Centre Culturel Francais de Helsinki, Finlande

Scientific Committee:

- Fred Dervin, Department of French Studies, University of Turku, Finland

- Elizabeth Murphy-Lejeune, Department of French, Saint Patrick s College, Dublin, Ireland

- Vassiliki Papatsiba, Department of Educational Studies, University of Oxford, UK

- Esmeralda Lopes Rosa, Escola Superior de Educacao Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal

- Eija Suomela-Salmi, Department of French Studies, University of Turku, Turku, Finland

- Matti Taajamo, University of Jyvaskyla, Jyvaskyla, Finland

- Ioannis Tsoukalas, Department of Social Anthropology, University of Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden

Keynote speaker:

- Mike Byram, School of Education, University of Durham, UK

Plenary speakers:

- Martine Abdallah-Pretceille, Universities of Paris III & Paris VIII, France

- Elizabeth Murphy-Lejeune, Department of French, Saint Patrick’s College, Dublin, Ireland

- Vassiliki Papatsiba, Department of Educational Studies, University of Oxford, UK

- Eija Suomela-Salmi, Department of French Studies, University of Turku, Finland

Contacts:

Tel: +358 (0) 23336041

Fax: +358 (0) 2 3336560

E-mail: mobility@utu.fi

Snail-mail: Academic Mobility, C/O F. Dervin, Department of French Studies, Henrikinkatu 2,20014 Turun Yliopisto, Finland.