University Park, Pa. -- The movement of skilled workers, the countries they come from, their influence on the economy and their contributions to the development of their home countries are some of the topics of "Skilled Diasporas and the Transnational Flow of Knowledge and Resources, An International Workshop," scheduled for April 30 and May 1 in 124 Sparks Building on the University Park campus.
The two-day workshop includes papers by researchers around the world and will focus on the communities from which skilled workers come and the implications for higher education. Sonia Plaza and Çaglar Ozden, senior economists with the World Bank will discuss the perspective of the World Bank on skilled migration. Some areas of specific focus will be on Indian information technology workers, diaspora investment in China, movement of university graduates from South Africa and the efforts of policy makers in the Philippines, Mexico and South Africa to harness the talent of their migrant workers.
The workshop is organized by the Migration Studies Project directed by Suresh Canagarajah, William J. and Catherine Craig Kirby Professor in Language Learning, departments of applied linguistics and English, Penn State. The workshop is part of the World Universities Network, a network consisting of 15 research-intensive institutions spanning five continents with a mission to use collaboration to accelerate the creation of knowledge and to develop leaders who will be prepared to address the significant challenges, and opportunities, of our rapidly changing world. For information on WUN go to http://www.wun.ac.uk online; for more in the workshop, visit http://www.wun.ac.uk/events/skilled-diasporas-and-transnational-flow-knowledge-and-resources online.
Penn State faculty members who participate in this workshop hope to follow up next academic year with regular meetings to develop research projects and funding proposals on the subject.
For more information about the workshop contact Suresh Canagarajah, asc16@psu.edu.