ETMU 2026

Pre-Conference: ETMU Doctoral Seminar 2026

The ETMU 2026 Conference invites doctoral researchers to join the ETMU Doctoral Seminar on 4th November 2026 between 15.00-18.00, at the Migration Institute of Finland (Hämeenkatu 13) in Turku, Finland.

Submissions are to be made through this link no later than 4th October 2026. 

The conference explores how positive relationships—such as trust, recognition, protection, belonging, safety, solidarity, equity, anti-racism, vulnerability, reliability, accountability, the rule of law, hope, care, refusal, control, exclusion, and resistance—are envisioned, built, challenged, and restored in mobile futures. While trust is a key focus, submissions for the doctoral seminar need not address it solely. Possible themes include, but are not limited to:

  • migration, mobility, and belonging;
  • ethnic relations and social cohesion in diverse societies;
  • racism, anti-racism, discrimination, and structural inequality;
  • trust, mistrust, distrust, safety, and vulnerability;
  • borders, asylum, deportation, citizenship, and legal status;
  • institutions, governance, welfare, education, labour markets, and public services;
  • diaspora, transnational ties, family relations, and care;
  • everyday encounters, solidarity, refusal, resistance, and activism;
  • methodological, ethical, and epistemological challenges in migration research;
  • future-oriented, speculative, creative, or practice-based approaches to migration and belonging.

The Doctoral Seminar is a space for discussing doctoral research work in progress. We encourage doctoral researchers to submit ongoing work, such as dissertation sections, article drafts, research plans, funding applications, or other research materials. Submissions can include unfinished, exploratory, or uncertain pieces, aimed at confidential discussion and feedback rather than evaluation. Discussants foster an environment for testing ideas, clarifying arguments, and planning next steps. Contributions may be empirical, theoretical, or methodologically diverse and cover any fields of humanities, social sciences or law.

Participation in the Doctoral Seminar is free of charge.


Submissions are to be made through this link no later than 4th October 2026. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by 13th October 2026. The submission should be between 3000 and 5000 words and add a short note of approximately 250 words explaining what the text is, where it fits in your doctoral research, and what kind of feedback you would find most useful.

Registration for the ETMU 2026 conference programme will open on 16 September 2026 and close on 15 October 2026. More information about ETMU 2026: https://mobilefutures.fi/etmu-2026/