Exploring the Complex Nexus of Migration and Development: A New Course Led by CLARS Co-PI Prof. Frank Ahimbisibwe at the University of Antwerp
Antwerp, May 2, 2025 — A new course led by CLARS team member and guest professor Frank Ahimbisibwe at the University of Antwerp is offering students a rare opportunity to critically explore one of the most pressing global challenges of the 21st century: the intricate relationship between migration and development.
Titled International Migration and Development, the course is designed to equip students with both theoretical and practical insights into the key dynamics shaping the global migration landscape. Guest Professor Ahimbisibwe, whose own research has focused extensively on East Africa, brings an interdisciplinary and deeply contextualized approach to the subject, drawing on real world case studies, personal fieldwork, and cutting-edge literature.
From the outset, students are encouraged not merely to absorb information, but to engage actively with the material through discussion, independent research, and presentations. “Migration is not a one-way journey, and neither is learning about it,” Professor Ahimbisibwe remarked during the course’s opening session. “It’s a give and take process that demands curiosity, empathy, and a willingness to question assumptions.”
The course covers a range of foundational and advanced topics, including key concepts such as remittances, diaspora, displacement, transnationalism, and immobility. Through a rigorous series of readings, from scholars like Hein de Haas, Rogers Brubaker, and Katharine Schewel, students examine both the promises and the paradoxes of the migration-development nexus.
A standout feature of the course is its focus on critical thinking and reflexivity. Students are tasked with exploring how migration influences development, and vice versa, through multiple lenses: economic, political, cultural, and personal. Special attention is given to challenging binary distinctions, such as “forced” versus “voluntary” migration, and to spotlighting voices often marginalized in mainstream migration discourse.
Beyond lectures and readings, students are expected to formulate their own research questions, focusing on specific regions or migration issues. These questions form the basis of a small research project to be presented in the final sessions of the subunit. This hands on approach not only deepens student engagement but prepares them for future research or policy work in migration-related fields.
Assessment for the course is based on a take home exam (70%), a final in class presentation (20%), and active participation (10%). The take home exam is scheduled for May 12, giving students the chance to synthesize their learning and demonstrate their grasp of key theories and case studies.
A guest lecture by Dr. Olivier Sterck on “The Economic Lives of Refugees” adds further depth, providing empirical insights from refugee camps and urban settlements in East Africa. This complements Professor Ahimbisibwe’s own regional expertise and broadens students’ understanding of forced migration dynamics.
With a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary thinking and real-world application, Professor Ahimbisibwe’s course represents a vital component of CLARS ambitions. It not only enriches academic discourse on migration but also empowers students to ask difficult questions and, potentially, to help shape better migration and development policies in the future.