Kobe University

"Brain Drain in Europe Higher Education and Labour Mobility in Europe" held

February 23, 2016

The interdisciplinary workshop on labour mobility and migration in the EU, with special focus on highly-skilled labour, took place at the VUB (Free University Brussels) on Saturday, 23 January 2016. Attracting around 15 speakers and audience from six countries (Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, Czech Republic, France, UK), the workshop was not only highly interdisciplinary, but also very diverse and multi-cultural. Apart from speakers from academic institutions in Germany, UK, Belgium and Japan, we also had representatives from the business community, students, and journalists in the audience.

Both the speakers and the audience (among them six KUPES - Kobe University Programme for European Studies - students currently studying in Europe) greatly enjoyed the event, and the purpose of comparing the EU’s and Japan’s approach to labour migration and mobility, as well as stimulating heated debates was definitely achieved.

The presentations of 30 min, followed by 15 min of Q&A by the four invited researchers from European universities and organisations were highly impressive, and the participants shared extensive knowledge on EU and student mobility (Ludovic Highman, College of Europe, Brugge), high-skilled labour mobility (Lucie Cerna, OECD, Paris (COMPAS Oxford)), migration regimes (Regine Paul, Osnabrueck University) and the political dimension of restricting migration (Christof Roos, Free University Brussels). The chance to compare the situation in the EU with the Japanese approach to migration (Anna Schrade, Kobe University, plus 2 students’ presentations) were highly appreciated by all participants and contributed to a better understanding of what migration means for both Japan and the EU, and what can be learnt from each other.

The intensive workshop, starting at 11 am and finishing at 6 pm, greatly contributed to a better academic understanding of migration and posed a unique chance for all participants to discuss migration from different disciplines, with focus on both the EU and Japan, which can be seen in the very positive feedback the workshop received.

(Centre for EU-Japan Collaborative Education)