Contact : MAPS -Maison d'analyse des processus sociauxRue A.-L. Breguet 1 CH -2000 Neuchâtel Tél. +41 32 718 39 34 www2.unine.ch/maps maps.info@unine.ch La reproduction, transmission ou traduction de tout ou partie de cette publication est autorisée pour des activités à but non lucratif ou pour l'enseignement et la recherche. Dans les autres cas, la permission de la MAPS est requise. ISSN : 1662-744X AbstractToday, transnational mobility is often presented as indispensable for a successful academic career. This institutionalisation of transnational mobility for young academics has important effects in (re)producing or transforming gender inequalities. Building on the results of a qualitative study conducted at three universities -Zurich (Switzerland), UCLA (USA), and Cambridge (UK) -this paper examines the mobility experiences of early-career academics and their partners and seeks to understand the mechanisms underlying mobility patterns, including the ways in which they are gendered. Drawing on three case studies, this paper focuses on the gendered negotiations and arrangements of mobile couples. Each case study represents a different ideal-typical pattern of how gender is entangled with mobility. We show how gender is 'done' and 'undone' by the academics and their partners throughout these mobility trajectories, and how these couples' negotiations and practices are closely entangled with gender representations that are structurally anchored in labour markets and discursively expressed within the wider social environment. As such, this paper not only contributes to the academic literature by shedding light on a particular type of gendered highly skilled mobility, but also questions the dichotomy between economic men and social and cultural women sometimes reproduced in studies on highly skilled migration. Furthermore, the findings challenge earlier studies that suggest a causal link between mobility and the leaky pipeline by showing that important transformations with regard to gender relations are occurring and that mobility does not inevitably reinforce conventional gender practices.

Academic mobility is increasingly presented as indispensable for a successful academic career. This imperative is rooted in the assumption that mobility contributes to academic excellence because it allows academics to build transnational academic networks. Based on biographical interviews and an analysis of the mobility networks of early‐career academics at three universities (Zurich, Cambridge, and UCLA), we examine the composition of these academics’ networks at different times and discuss the role of transnational ties within them. We find that increased mobility does indeed result in more transnational networks, but it does not increase academic social capital. The additional transnational ties mainly consist of transnational kinship and friendship relations. Furthermore, the mobility of early‐career academics triggers various forms of mobility among their family members. Finally, early‐career academics can build transnational academic ties without necessarily becoming mobile themselves, thanks to the mobility of higher‐ranked academics.

In the early stages of their career, academics often move abroad for fixed-term positions, urged by the normative imperative to gain international experience and the need to accept academic opportunities where they arise. Drawing on three case studies comprising biographical and qualitative network interviews with academics, complemented in one case by a semistructured interview with a partner, this paper examines how early-career academics experience repeated transnational mobility and deal with its implications on their and their family members' personal lives. The analysis shows that the repetitive nature of mobility associated with fixed-term appointments is a significant aspect of academic precarity and provides insights into the compromises made by academics as they try to balance competing aspirations and demands pertaining to the different domains of their mobile lives.

In the health and social professions, including occupational therapy and social work, interactions and exchanges with people are essential. Populations encountered by professionals in these fields are becoming increasingly diverse in terms of age, origin, language, health status, and socio-economic background. Sometimes, professionals can have potential misinterpretations regarding intentions and actions, health beliefs and practices, or verbal and non-verbal communication. To overcome obstacles related to practice in a context of diversity, universities must develop students’ intercultural competence. Scientific literature stresses the importance of encountering diversity to improve awareness and sensitivity and to bring attention to biases and prejudices. Considering students’ intercultural experiences before their formation could be a basis to achieve this educational goal. The present study aims to document this topic. Semi-structured interviews with 51 first-year students from two educational institutions in French-speaking Switzerland were conducted to capture the participants’ descriptions of these experiences in private or professional contexts. The interviews were transcribed and submitted to a thematic analysis approach. A thematic map was generated and three main themes emerged: (1) perception of diversity; (2) communication challenges; and (3) transformation of attitudes toward the “Other.” They are described and discussed in terms of developing intercultural competence. Recommendations regarding intercultural education emerge from these findings.