The Department of Political Science and the Centre for Eurasian Studies (ZEUS) at the University of Rostock, Germany, in cooperation with the School of Humanities and Liberal Arts at Chandigarh University, India, and with the University of Aarhus, Denmark, are conducting an international conference on “South Asian Migration and the Conditions of Precarity”.

The conference is an open and interdisciplinary event that aims to bring together various perspectives on South Asian migration from different academic disciplines. The connecting overarching concept is the idea of “Precarity” understood as conditions of vulnerability and insecurity in the life of migrants from South Asia. Precarity may refer to migratory status, citizenship, identity, work, politics, and all spheres of everyday life.

Key notes are going to be delivered by Om Prakash Dwivedi (Professor and Founding Director, Institute of Liberal Arts and Humanities at Chandigarh University, Lucknow Campus, India) and Tabish Khair (Associate Professor, School of Communication and Culture, Department of English at the University of Aarhus, Denmark). Presentations and participants will come from Germany, Denmark, Poland, and India.

The conference will take place June 27-28, 2025, at the University of Rostock. It is planned to publish the conference papers in an edited volume or in a special issue of a fitting journal.

In March 2025, Dr. Pierre Gottschlich (ZEUS Spokesperson and Senior Lecturer and Research Associate at the Chair of International Politics and Development Cooperation) travelled to India to foster contacts and initiate cooperation programs with universities in Lucknow and Hyderabad. 

In Lucknow, capital of the state of Uttar Pradesh in North India, Dr. Gottschlich was hosted by the School of Humanities and Liberal Arts at Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh. In a guest lecture on March 24, he gave a talk on the topic of “International Conflict Resolution”. Also, Dr. Gottschlich participated in a national level Corporate Board meeting of Chandigarh University and had the opportunity to meet several members of the academic faculty and the administration. Among many other things, a Memorandum of Understanding between the School of Humanities and Liberal Arts at Chandigarh University and the Department of Political Science at the University of Rostock was discussed and prepared. Chandigarh University is also a cooperation partner for the international conference “South Asian Migration and the Conditions of Precarity” which is going to take in place in Rostock June 27-28, 2025.

In Hyderabad, capital of the state of Telangana in the south-central part of India, Dr. Gottschlich was guest of the Human Sciences Research Centre at the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Hyderabad. On March 26, he gave a guest lecture on the topic of “The Indian Diaspora in Germany”. The visit of the unique and impressive IIIT campus was also aimed at preparing the international conference on migration in June, where two researchers from Hyderabad will present their findings in Rostock, hopefully leading to further collaboration between the institutions.

On March 4, 2025, a team of researchers from the Institute of Public Service and Management of the Odesa Polytechnic National University, Ukraine, once again visited their partner institution in Rostock within the framework of the Eurizon Fellowship Programme. Prof. Dr. Natalia Kolisnichenko and PhD students Olena Lypach and Yuliia Slobodianiuk met with representatives of the University of Rostock including Prof. Dr. Jörn Dosch (Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences and Chair of International Politics and Development Cooperation at the University of Rostock) and Dr. Pierre Gottschlich (Senior Lecturer and Research Associate at the Chair of International Politics and Development Cooperation and ZEUS Spokesperson). 

During the meeting, the results of the project on the restoration and reconstruction of post-war territories, in particular Ukrainian communities, were presented. Also, views were shared on Rostock’s experience in organizing and financing restoration and reconstruction projects after World War II and after the reunification of Germany. The city tour of Rostock included a visit to the main building of the University and its treasury with several historical artifacts and a visit to the University’s impressive zoological collection. Overall, the visit was another important step for deepening the cooperation between the universities and for exchanging experiences in the field of post-war reconstruction.

In December 2024, a team of researchers from the Institute of Public Service and Management of the Odesa Polytechnic National University, Ukraine, visited their partner institution in Rostock within the framework of the Eurizon Fellowship Programme. An academic workshop was conducted on December 12, 2024, at the Center for Eurasian Studies (ZEUS) at the University of Rostock. Participants included Prof. Dr. Jörn Dosch (Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences and Chair of International Politics and Development Cooperation at the University of Rostock), Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Muno (Chair of Comparative Politics), Prof. Dr. Peter Christoph Lorson (Chair of Accounting, Management Control and Auditing) and Dr. Pierre Gottschlich (Senior Lecturer and Research Associate at the Chair of International Politics and Development Cooperation and ZEUS Spokesperson).

In the workshop, Olena Lypach (PhD student of the Odesа Polytechnic National University) presented her research on “Regional Mechanism of Planning and Development of Cities in the Conditions of Modern Challenges”. Yuliia Slobodianiuk (PhD student of the Department of Public administration and regional studies of the Odesа Polytechnic National University) gave a presentation on “The Role of Local Communities as Important Subjects of International Inter-Territorial Cooperation in the Process of Ukraine’s Reconstruction: International Grants as One of the Ways of Financing Reconstruction in Communities”. Both presentations showed impressive research insights and were discussed intensively.