Events

CHAIRPERSON

Prof Brenda S.A. Yeoh, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore

ABSTRACT

Advanced digital technologies are transforming the way we work, connect, participate, and even live. Their impact is most visible in the migration field where they facilitate decoupling the place of work and the place of residence, potentially leading to whole new opportunities and challenges. Today, digital nomads can travel while they work, while labour migrants, particularly those with temporary status, may find themselves trapped in digital platform work. This presentation offers a critical review of the notion of quality of work, arguing that its contours have been fundamentally shifting in recent times. Empirical insights arising from research on digital platforms (particularly immigrant employment in those) and work on digital nomadism reveal new elements valued by migrant and digital nomad workers. The presentation points to the ambivalence of these new configurations, which create vulnerable workers but also agentic subjects who seek to negotiate better career aspirations, whether through digital nomadism or engagement in digital platform work.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Anna Triandafyllidou holds the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration, at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), and is the Founding Director of TMU’s newly launched Global Migration Institute. She is also the Scientific Director of a $98.4 million multi-University and multi-partner Program entitled Bridging Divides funded by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund. Prior to joining TMU in 2019, she held a Robert Schuman Chair at the European University Institute, in Florence, Italy. She is Editor of the Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies. In 2021, the University of Liège awarded Triandafyllidou a doctorate honoris causa in recognition of her contribution to migration scholarship. Triandafyllidou has published widely in the field of migration governance, migration and national identity, and migrant integration in comparative perspectives. She was part of the OECD Network of International Migration Experts from 2010 to 2018 and has provided expert opinions for the Senate of Canada, Immigration Refuges and Citizenship Canada, the European Parliament and the European Commission.