On 5 and 6 November 2024, 160 researchers gathered at the University of Geneva to present their research on mobility in the life course. Organised by the LIVES Centre and the NCCR on the Move, this international conference encouraged fruitful exchanges between researchers from 18 countries and 85 institutions. Sonia Petrini (UNIL), Hill Kulu (University of St Andrews) and Dominik Hangartner (ETH Zurich) led the plenary sessions. A total of 75 presentations and 12 posters were presented over the two days. At the end of the event, the prize for the best poster was awarded to Vasilena Lachkovska.
Sonia Petrini launched the programme with her lecture "How polygenic indices help us to understand inequality of opportunity". This doctoral student in sociology at the University of Lausanne measured the influence of polygenic indices and observed aptitudes on life opportunities such as the number of years of education, income and employment. Although genetics partly explains some of these results, its influence remains marginal, indicating that life opportunities depend mainly on our social context. On the other hand, biology can inform us about our notion of social justice and provide new elements for greater equality of opportunity.
See Sonia Petrini's full presentation
Hill Kulu, Professor of Human Geography and Demography at the University of St Andrews (UK), closed the first day with a lecture entitled "Family and Employment Trajectories among Immigrants and Their Descendants in Europe". He noted that the number of migrants has increased over the last 30 years. His research focuses on the areas of family, employment and residence.
See Hill Kulu's full presentation
Dominik Hangartner, Professor of Public Policy and Co-Director of the Immigration Policy Laboratory at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, gave the final lecture of this event with his presentation "The intergenerational effects of forced migration on human capital": the children of people who have undergone forced migration have a better education and a higher income than natives of the same generation. This is because people who have been forcibly displaced, by a natural disaster for example, have subsequently settled in urban centres offering greater opportunities.
See Dominik Hangartner's full presentation
Young researchers encouraged to show their work
On Tuesday afternoon, twelve young researchers presented their research posters to the participants, giving them an opportunity to hear the opinions of more experienced researchers. A panel of judges assessed all the posters and awarded the prize for best poster 2024 to Vasilena Lachkovska, a doctoral student in sociology at the University of Lausanne, for her poster "Same country, different language, different perception? Evidence from a name survey experiment in Switzerland". Congratulations to her!