The doctoral dissertation in the field of Human Geography will be examined at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies at Joensuu Campus and online.
What is the topic of your doctoral research? Why is it important to study the topic?
My doctoral research asks a simple question: how does money exchanged between international students and their families affect whether students complete their degrees and find work matching their education? I followed Pakistani and Indian migrants who came to Finland and Sweden to study. Some students received money from home, while others worked during their studies and sent money to their families. These different responsibilities affected the time available for studying, the kinds of jobs students accepted, and their chances of moving into professional employment. The topic matters because Finland and Sweden want to attract and retain international talent. Recruitment alone is not enough if students struggle financially, become trapped in insecure work, or cannot use their qualifications after graduation.
The dissertation is timely for Finland. Applications to universities of applied sciences from outside the EU and EEA fell from 60,000 to just over 12,000 in two years. Public discussion links this decline to weak employment prospects, tighter migration rules, and gaps between expectations and reality. My research goes deeper by showing how students’ choices are connected to family circumstances across borders. Employment in Finland may support not only the student but also parents, siblings, or children abroad. The responsibility to support family members can influence which jobs students accept, whether they finish their degrees, and whether they later find work matching their education. Finland’s attractiveness therefore depends on more than recruitment campaigns. Sustainable internationalisation requires realistic opportunities to complete a degree, avoid prolonged insecure work, and use one’s qualifications after graduation.
What are the key findings or observations of your doctoral research?
The study shows that money exchanged across borders is not simply a result of successful migration. It can shape what happens during studies and afterwards. Students expected to support their families often started low-paid work early. For some, this reduced time for studying, delayed graduation, or made it harder to leave insecure jobs. Students who received money from their families or a stipend had more freedom to focus on their degrees, learn new skills, and seek work matching their qualifications. These roles also changed over time. A student could first receive support, later send money home after finding work, and eventually become neither a sender nor a receiver when the family reunited or responsibilities changed.
The research also shows that migration does not consist of one move from one country to another. Students may move between cities, universities, jobs, and countries before deciding whether to stay, return home, or move elsewhere. To explain these changing paths, the dissertation develops an Integrated Multiscalar Educational Migration Pathway Framework. The study provides rare comparative evidence on Pakistani and Indian student migrants in Finland and Sweden.
How can the results of your doctoral research be utilised in practice?
The findings can help universities and policymakers understand why recruiting international students is only the first step. Universities can identify students facing serious financial or family pressures and offer better scholarships, language support, career guidance, internships, and links to employers. Migration and education policies should also consider how tuition fees, income requirements, work rights, family reunification rules, and post-study permits affect degree completion and access to skilled work.
Employers can improve recruitment practices so that international graduates can use their education instead of remaining in low-paid jobs. The main practical message is that Finland cannot retain international talent through marketing alone. Students also need realistic opportunities to finish their degrees, support themselves without becoming trapped in insecure work, and build a career after graduation.
What are the key research methods and materials used in your doctoral research?
The research is based on 59 life-story interviews with Pakistani and Indian migrants who came to Finland and Sweden as international students. I interviewed 31 people in Finland and 28 in Sweden. I also followed many participants through periodic fieldwork and continued contact over approximately ten years. This made it possible to examine what happened before migration, during studies, and after graduation. The material includes interviews, fieldnotes, participant observation, and visits to homes, workplaces, universities, community events, and public meeting places. I compared participants’ reasons for migrating, financial support from families and institutions, money sent home, degree progress, employment, legal status, and later decisions to stay, return, or move onward. The Swedish interviews contribute directly to the comparison of migration and financial support, while Finland provides the main detailed analysis of employment and economic integration.
The doctoral dissertation of Zain Ul Abdin, M.Soc.Sc., entitled Reconfiguring Student Migration Pathways: A Transnational Social Protection Approach to Remittances and Economic Integration will be examined at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies. The opponent will be Professor Johanna Waters, University College London, and the custos will be Adjunct Professor Paul Fryer, University of Eastern Finland. Language of the public defence is English.
For further information, please contact:
Zain Ul Abdin, zain.abdin(at)uef.fi, 0504679044
