Migration and the city.  How wellbeing related factors influence the retention of highly skilled migrants in Eindhoven (NL)

by Camilla Spadavecchia (Tilburg University)
March 29th, UOC, Avda. Tibidabo 39-43, Barcelona
Time: 4:30 – 6:00pm
Place: Tibi2-S1-Tibi2_Sala S102

Although the implications of migrations are connected to national frames and span the transnational field, cities remain the primary terrain upon which they take shape and unfold (Hatziprokopiou et al, 2016). In this context, we present a study on highly skilled migrants (HSMs) living in Eindhoven city, an important pole of the Dutch knowledge economy, which attracts numerous highly qualified people from all over the world. We define HSMs as migrants with at least a bachelor degree. By doing so, we deliberately avoid the use of the economic criteria (such for example the salary threshold) in the definition of HSMs and we challenge the idea of HSMs as a mere human capital. We focus on highly qualified people who migrated to Eindhoven for job or love related reasons, and we explore how wellbeing related factors influence their intention to stay in the region. We analyze numerous factors such as the connection and trust with the community, the sense of safety and the social connections with different groups and institutions. We look at their participation in the local activities and in the local government practices. In this occasion, we show the results of the semi-structured interviews based on life course approach, and wellbeing studies. Results shows that the perception of the wellbeing differs according to different genders.

Camilla Spadavecchia (Tilburg University) is visiting professor at the Studies of Arts and Humanities, UOC via Erasmus fellowship.

This seminar is a collaborative action of medusa and mediaccions research groups.