As part of the MOVES European Joint Doctorate (EJD), of which our university is one of the five partners, 14 early stage researchers will meet, for the first time at Saint-Charles, to discuss the subject from the multidisciplinary perspective of the humanities and social sciences.
Nathalie Vienne-Guerrin, coordinator of MOVES at UPVM3, answers our questions.
First of all, could you briefly introduce the MOVES project?
Since March 2019, the Institute for Research on the Renaissance, the Neo-Classical Age and the Enlightenment (IRCL, UMR 5186 CNRS) has coordinated, for UPVM3, the H2020 European Joint Doctorate MOVES, “Migration and Modernity: Historical and Cultural Challenges.” This European project represents approximately 820,000 euros for our university, which is intended to finance the early stage researchers (ESR) that were recruited to carry out this research programme. MOVES involves four other European partners: the universities of Porto, Kent (and its social science branch in Brussels), Berlin and Prague.
What are the main research objectives of MOVES?
Univerzita Karlova (Prague) is coordinating the entire project, the aim of which is to shed light on past and present migration phenomena in the light of interdisciplinary research articulating the humanities and social sciences. This diachronic and interdisciplinary approach constitutes the primary challenge of this project. That is why this project is linked to our École Doctorale (ED) 58, but it also calls for close collaborations with colleagues from ED 60. Fifteen early stage researchers have been recruited to carry out this research project.
Will the Montpellier international workshop give the ESRs the opportunity to rethink “mobility studies” and debates on the “migration crisis”?
Yes, that is what this project is all about. COVID has had a major impact on travel over the last two years – a paradox for a programme that deals with migration – and the MOVES team will meet for the first time at Paul-Valéry to take part in a dual workshop that will present the diversity of careers in higher education and research in the five countries involved, but which will also be an opportunity for our ESRs to share the non-academic experiences that they have had over the last few months at non-academic institutions.
How does this European Joint Doctorate work?
The ESRs spend 18 months at one university and 18 months at another. They are supervised by academic staff from both universities. This programme culminates in a MOVES joint doctorate, the implementation of which requires a high degree of coordination among the five partner universities.
