23-24 July 2024, Koç University, Turkey
Morgane Delaunay[1]
On 23 and 24 July 2024, Koç University, Turkey, hosted a joint HIDDEN and WeMov Talent Meeting.
Aimed at the early career members of the two Cost Actions in line with COST principles of equality and inclusion, coming, in HIDDEN case, from the UK, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Portugal, Croatia, Belgium, Spain, Slovenia and Czechia, this initiative resulted in two very informative and helpful days in which a large range of practical issues were discussed.
The first day began with a first Keynote from our host, Maryam Ekhtiari, a PhD candidate at Koç University, who presented a very interesting overview of the migration dynamics in Turkey, as a receiving, sending and transit country.
Then it was time for the group to split, as HIDDEN members were to be trained by WeMov trainers, and vice versa.
The first training session for HIDDEN participants was conducted by WeMov Chair Marie Ruiz (France), dedicated to Horizon Europe and ERC grant writing. It consisted of a role-playing exercise where HIDDEN members, divided in two groups, had to prepare a proposal to a Horizon Europe call on migration. Even in a very short period of time, during this challenge, the trainees managed to demonstrate, through a rich exchange of ideas, their abilities and highlighted the complementary nature of the different profiles of HIDDEN members.
Then WeMov and HIDDEN member Igor Lyman (Ukraine) provided useful theoretical and practical guidance on the practice of Oral history, taking as example several Ukrainian projects. This session was also the opportunity for the participants to exchange on their own experience of conducting interviews and the different challenges they encountered.
Tatjana Saric (Croatia), also a member of both Cost Actions, dedicated her afternoon presentation to the topic of historical primary sources, sharing her experience as an archivist at the National State Archives. Once again, the participants shared their experiences of the various archives they had consulted in different countries, emphasising the fact that they had not received any training on how to conduct proper research in archives during their academic journey.
The first day of the event ended with a very interesting presentation titled “Communicating research” by WeMov Scientific Communications Officer Livia Prosinger (Hungary). She focused mainly on the design tools that the Canva platform offers to publish high-impact content, namely on social media platforms.
To end a very fruitful first day, HIDDEN and WeMov members enjoyed a dinner on the banks of the Bosphorus.
The second day began with the second part of the keynote by Maryam Ekhtiari during which she presented us her ongoing research on the migration journey of Afghan and Iranian migrants to Germany, through Turkey. Her fascinating presentation was followed by a very fruitful discussion between all the participants.
Then it was time for HIDDEN early career researchers to receive training by HIDDEN members.
Michael Geary (Norway) and Sergiu Gherghina(UK) presented a very useful session on grant writing for Marie Curie, Cost and Fulbright Commission calls, based on their own extensive experience. They also highlighted the existence of national funds, such as postgraduate and scholar schemes in Ireland, Norway and Poland. It was also the occasion for the trainees to ask questions on their own ongoing or future application process.
The following session provided valuable information on publishing journal articles and preparing book proposals, a central aspect of any academic career. Jennifer Redmond (HIDDEN Chair, Ireland), Michael Geary, Sergiu Gherghina, as well as Ayşen Üstübici (Turkey, and one of the editors of the journal International Migration), gave the participants concrete tips on how to maximise the chances of getting our article proposal accepted by journals, as well as advice on proposing monographs to academic publishers. The issue of the impact and importance of the exercise of peer-review for the academic community was also addressed.
Another useful session was provided by Ana Belén Martínez García (Spain)on job application. It was the opportunity to have a refresh on CV and cover letter redaction, as well as to get updated on the use of new tools and practices provided by social media and platforms, such as profile videos. The importance of regular updates of platforms such as institutional repositories, Academia, ResearchGate was also highlighted.
Finally, in the last session of the two-day meeting, Luciana Jinga (Romania)addressed the issue of data management. Based on her experience as a former Marie Curie Fellow, she presented the trainees her own data management plan. It was a very helpful session to fully understand what data management means in our disciplines and to integrate this specific point in our ongoing applications in a relevant way.
The Talent Meeting was a real success, not only in terms of the usefulness of the content and the richness of the discussions, but also in terms of consolidating the synergy between HIDDEN members from different working groups, opening up new avenues for future networking and collaboration, an aspect that is at the heart of COST.
As a bonus, this initiative also allowed many participants to have their first glimpse of the historic and vibrant city of Istanbul.
[1] Post-doc Researcher at Centre for Comparative Studies, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Lisbon in the framework of the Project “Constellations of Memory: a multidirectional study of postcolonial migration and remembering“,(PTDC/SOC-ANT/4292/2021).
