11th Annual Minority studies profile seminar Paradoxes of International Professional Mobility in the Polycrisis Era
Welcome to the 11th Annual Minority studies profile seminar “Paradoxes of International Professional Mobility in the Polycrisis Era” on May 7-8, 2026.
The seminar is hosted by Åbo Akademi University minority studies profile and the Åbo Akademi University School of Business of Economics in collaboration with the “Cosmopolitan life, identity and future of work (COSMO)” project, the “Mobile Futures” project, the research project “Beyond Language Ideologies?” funded by the Swedish Culture foundation and the Turku School of Economics at the University of Turku.
The seminar is also the COSMO project final seminar and launch of the COSMO book “The Many Faces of Global Mobility: Cosmopolitans and the Future of Work”.
We aim for a genuinely novel, interdisciplinary take on international professional mobility, inspired by keynote speeches by Professor of Organizational Psychology Chris Steyaert from the University of St. Gallen and Senior Lecturer in Organizational Behavior Marjana Johansson from the University of Glasgow.
Participating faculty include experts from e.g. business studies, migration studies, history and law, such as Niina Nummela, Magdalena Kmak, Mika Raunio, Wilhelm Barner-Rasmussen, Charlotta Wolff, Maria Elo, and Maria Ivanova-Gongne. The seminar provides a valuable opportunity for exchange and networking, especially for PhD students and postdoctoral researchers.
The workshop is free of charge and includes coffee breaks and lunches. Registration closes at Tuesday 28.4.2026 at 23.59. Please sign up here
Programme
Thursday, May 7, 2026 Åbo Akademi University, Arken, building G (Tehtaankatu 2, 20500 Turku). N.B. You can access the Arken G-building directly from the street. You do not need to enter through the gates to the Arken courtyard.
9:00-10:00 Registration and coffee
10:00-10:15 Welcome and introduction, Wilhelm Barner-Rasmussen and Magdalena Kmak
10:15-11:15 Keynote speech by Professor Chris Steyaert, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland
11:15-11:20 Break
11:20-12:00 Reflections on key note themes, Maria Ivanova-Gongne, Professor Eriikka Paavilainen-Mäntymäki and
Professor Maria Elo
12:00-13:00 Lunch (Café Arken)
13:00-14:15 Paradox I: “Highlighted/visible versus omitted/invisible” , Magdalena Kmak, Mika Raunio, Olivia Maury
14:15-14:45 Coffee break
14:45-16:15 Paradox II: “Individual agency in the face of precarity?”, Charlotta Wolff, Dan Ha Le, Johanna Raitis,
16:15-17:30 Book launch: “The Many Faces of Global Mobility: Cosmopolitans and the Future of Work” (refreshments and hors d’oeuvres served)
Friday, May 8, 2026 Åbo Akademi University, Arken G-building, Tehtaankatu 2, 20500 Turku
8:30-9:00 Coffee
9:00-9:15 Introduction and reflections
9:15-10:15 Paradox III: “Organizations – inclusive or stratified?” Keynote “International professional mobility and diasporic academics” and reflections Senior reader Marjana Johansson, University of Glasgow; postdoctoral researcher Jagat Kunwar, Åbo Akademi University
10:15-10:30 Reflections
10:30-10:45 Break
10:45-12:15 PhD students’ and Young scholars’ session, Maria Hokkinen, Linh Duong, Sahizer Samuk. Moderator: Maria Ivanova-Gongne, Åbo Akademi University
12:15-13.00 Closing remarks and lunch (Arken G-building lobby)
Further information about the program and practical details will be shared shortly. Feel free to contact contact Wilhelm Barner-Rasmussen (wbarner@abo.fi), Maria Ivanova-Gongne (mivanova@abo.fi), or Elina Sagne-Ollikainen (elina.sagne-ollikainen@abo.fi) in case you have any questions about the seminar.
Feel free to forward this invitation within your networks to anyone interested in international professional mobility research. We look forward to welcoming you to Turku!
