Driss Habti

The Bologna Process and the Economic Impacts of Research and Development within the Context of Europeanization: the case of Finland

Higher education and public research play an important role in economic development, mainly in industrial research and development (R & D) and innovation through the manufacturing sector. Finland has taken great strides in this regard as it represents a Europeanization of a knowledge system in the European Union, being relevant at the international level for the outstanding development the economy has witnessed throughout the R & D sector while facing international challenges. The available database from Tekes (on the current state of the Finnish R & D sector) provided records of the gradual development of the sector over time and at different levels of the Finnish knowledge system. The article does not describe major policy measures of the Bologna process but rather attempts to consider the economic rationale of R & D development and its economic impacts in Finland within the Bologna framework. The article is concerned with the ways in which Finnish R & D under specific conditions has given results at the economic level with the Europeanization process and its subsequent policies. A synoptic view is given of higher education research strategies in terms of R & D and the article also touches on the issue of the general effects of the development of R & D and its economic relevance in light of the Bologna reforms.

Reason and Revelation for an Averroist Pursuit of "Convivencia" and Intercultural Dialogue.

Throughout medieval thought, a major issue raised was that of the relationship between religion and philosophy. Alternative frameworks see the problem as a conflict between faith and reason, tradition and speculation, mysticism and rationalism. The medieval Muslim philosopher Ibn Rushd, or Averroes, (1126–98), who lived in medieval Spain, attempts in his philosophy to reconcile philosophy with religion. This article probes into an ‘Averroist dialogue’ through his rationalist philosophy. Meanwhile, al-Ghazali (1058–1111), from Persia, tends towards an Islamic philosophy based on cause and effect and determined by God. Ibn Rushds retaliation to al-Ghazali was his defence of the primacy of philosophy and reason, and a call for diversity of knowledge. Ibn Rushd explicates the relation between religion and philosophy as two different ways of reaching the same truth, and clarifies the connection between Islamic law and Greek science, striving for a rapprochement between the Islamic ‘I’ and the European ‘Other’ through his epistemological principles of dialogue in a time of convivencia (coexistence) in medieval Andalusia.

Mapping Drivers of Arab Highly Skilled Self-Initiated Expatriation to Finland: Personal-Professional Life Pendulum

This paper investigates the migration process, specifically the drivers of migration, of highly skilled Arab expatriates in Finland. Migration behavior is examined as a process within the contexts that shape the individual’s personal circumstances before, during and after migration. The migrant’s aspirations may be reached through individual agency, motivations, and networks, external and unpredictable drives, or an interaction between these factors. Drawing on qualitative biographical data with 26 interviewees from this under-researched group, the study highlights the growing interest in micro-level analysis of the drivers, experiences and trajectories of highly skilled self-initiated expatriates (SIEs). Unlike other studies which focus on intra-company transfers from the economic theory perspective, in this chapter I attempt to capture the complex and fluid aspects of the process of highly skilled SIEs from a micro-individual perspective. The study explores the key dimension of expatriation as highly skilled migration. I first examine the complex and interacting migration drivers by exploring their migration trajectory, challenges and opportunities encountered over time. Second, I examine how these migrants negotiate the balance between career and personal-family life course, and how family considerations affect the decision-making process. Finally, I consider the extent to which these SIEs in a real-life context are migrants and represent an existing form of international skilled migration.

Self-Initiated Expatriation Rebooted: A Puzzling Reality – A Challenge to Migration Research and its Future Direction

Modern expatriation and self-initiated expatriation have resulted from many societal, economic and political changes. The idea of expatriation as a corporate governed phenomenon has been shifting towards mobile individuals and families migrating for career progression, and a mobilisation of their resources in international contexts. The chapters in this book illustrate the different nuances, dynamics and situations that help us to understand the self-initiated expatriation of highly skilled people. The findings suggest that there is a continuum of agency location and a collectiveness of action from corporate talent management to individual life plans and aspirations. Thus, there is less of a dichotomy than a hybridization of expatriation processes that points out a need for conceptual discussions. Furthermore, the single migration process for work purposes is contested as a concept, especially when multiple migrations and mobility forms are considered. The challenging viewpoints and findings presented underline the necessity to examine the phenomenon from cross-disciplinary angles. This chapter collates these underpinnings and reflections.

Rethinking Self-Initiated Expatriation in International Highly Skilled Migration

International migration and mobility, and the concept of self-initiated expatriation (SIE) (SIE as abbreviation is used for self-initiated expatriation as a concept, and for a self-initiated expatriate (SIE) or self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) as individuals) are intensively debated, ranging from research and politics to families and corporate recruiting strategies. Today, previously nonexistent possibilities and contexts enable and advance new processes and patterns of highly skilled mobility, such as self-initiated expatriation. An emerging field of study examines the concept of SIE and boundaryless career building processes from the perspectives of highly skilled people and human resource management. The importance of ‘global talents’, the demand for skills in globalizing labour markets, and the phenomenon of individualization influence policies at multiple levels and pull highly skilled people in diverse destinations. International opportunities beyond traditional corporate assignments generate various life and career options for these ‘talents’. The aim of the chapter is to foster reconceptualization and contextualization of SIE and its cross-dissemination. It provides an overview of the approaches and debates in international migration and mobility research, and focuses on these talents as embedded individuals. The chapter addresses recent theory discussions, such as the ‘mobility turn’ and the ‘big data’ in empirical social research, and it synthesizes a theory landscape on SIE research. It incorporates various disciplinary angles, interlinking different lenses, framings and mechanisms to trigger future research. The contribution broadens understanding of SIE concept both empirically and theoretically with particular insights from the Finnish context.

The Religious Aspects of Diasporic Experience of Muslims in Europe within the Crisis of Multiculturalism.

The literature on migration has largely covered concepts of diaspora, such as transnationalism, immigration and religious-ethnic minorities. These concepts that concern related factors of social transformation, mainly with reference to Islam in Europe, have been investigated with respect to religion. Major research questions include whether, and how, Muslim communities in Europe keep self-identity and how they adapt to the environment without abandoning group identity. This article examines Muslim diaspora with its different facets in Europe, and with religion as a dynamic factor in diasporic social transformation. The study presents a delineation of this diaspora and its conflation with the issue of immigration, transnationalism and identity, and the dynamics of religious transformation within the Muslim diasporic space. Reference will be made to the theoretical framework developed by Steven Vertovec on diaspora, transnationalism and migration in its relation to religion. The article follows two major theoretical premises: (i) whether national identity and citizenship policy, as defined and regulated by political bodies, are politically charged; and (ii) the question of multiculturalism and integration in Europe in terms of the encounter between Islamic values and putatively ‘secular’ European values, in a time when multiculturalism has been shifted to an ‘assimilative’ mode of integration.