On April 1, the new Research Training Group "Cross-Border Labour Markets: transnational market makers, infrastructures, institutions" (RTG2951) began its work. This collaboration between Bielefeld University and University Duisburg-Essen will serve as the academic home for a diverse group of 11 doctoral researchers and 1 Postdoc from various countries including Azerbaijan, Brazil, India, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, Russia, Syria, and Turkey. Five of them will be based at University Duisburg-Essen, while seven will be at Bielefeld University.

The doctoral researchers Aamir Ali, Anar Muradov, Ammar Kakisch, Benedikt Heckens, Duaa Kattana, Elisabeth Schmidt, Ezgi Elmas Uluergüven, Kadir Engil, Karim Mousa Ashour, Mariana Gomes, Mark Simon, and the Postdoc Sandhya A.S. as well as associated researchers Jonas Feldmann and Lisa Mansfeld, will conduct innovative research on cross-border labour markets and the transnational organizations, infrastructures, and institutions that facilitate and stabilize such labour markets extending beyond national boundaries.

The RTG is led by Ursula Mense-Petermann (Professor of Economic Sociology and Sociology of Work at Bielefeld University) as Speaker and Karen Shire (Professor of Comparative Sociology and Japanese Society at University Duisburg-Essen) as Co-speaker. This Research Training Group is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) for a period of five years with a total budget of up to 6.7 million euros.