Future of migration: Lower Saxony starts innovative education project!

Future of migration: Lower Saxony starts innovative education project!

On September 5, 2025, the FuturMig project was launched, which is coordinated by the Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies (IMIS) at the University of Osnabrück. The aim of this project is to examine ideas about the future in the context of migration and to promote their discussion in social, practical and scientific areas. Some well-known institutions are involved in the project, including the Center for Global Migration Studies (CeMig) at the Georg August University of Göttingen, the Center for Educational Integration (ZIB) at the University of Hildesheim, the Leibniz Institute for Educational Media/Georg Eckert Institute (GEI) in Braunschweig and the Friedland Museum.

As part of this project, over 25 researchers and practitioners are working on the relevance of migration-related ideas for the future. A main focus is on education and upbringing contexts, including preschool institutions, schools, universities as well as civil society initiatives, museums and memorial sites. The aim is to enable reflection on the social negotiation of migration futures in Lower Saxony. In addition, a certificate program for education stakeholders is being developed and will be introduced nationwide. The project is funded by Lower Saxony's “Science Spaces” program and the Volkswagen Foundation, with a total volume of almost three million euros until the end of 2029 uni-osnabrueck.de reported.

Scientific discussion of migration

In parallel, it offers Journal for Migration Research (ZMF) a forum for the scientific discussion of migration and the associated social changes. This specialist journal deals with the spatial movement of people in the present and past as well as its effects in the contexts of origin, transit and destination. All contributions are subject to a thorough quality assurance process, with ZMF publishing content in both languages, German and English, and appearing twice a year.

The ZMF divides its contributions into two categories: essays and discussion contributions. Essays can contain up to 65,000 characters and offer in-depth insights into specific questions in migration research, contextualized in the context of current academic debates. Discussion contributions, on the other hand, are limited to 35,000 characters and address current theoretical, methodological or conceptual debates.

Interdisciplinary collaboration in escape and refugee research

The context of migration research is also covered by the joint project “Flight and Refugee Research: Networking and Transfer” (FFVT) expanded in Germany. This project aims to strengthen interdisciplinary flight and refugee research. Research topics such as migration, development, conflict, violence, climate change, health, governance and human rights are of central importance. Supporting the networking of institutions and the planning of study and graduate programs are important aspects that contribute to the internationalization of scientific activities in Germany.

Overall, both projects, FuturMig and ZMF, show how important interdisciplinary collaboration and exchange are in migration research. The numerous research approaches make a significant contribution to developing a comprehensive understanding of the complex processes of migration and flight and to better mastering the social challenges that result from them.