Ayşen Üstübici - Digital Spaces and the Migration Decision-Making of Highly Skilled Workforce in Turkey

Study location	Türkiye, Istanbul
Type	Summer Research Program - Graduate, full-time

Language requirements	English

Other requirements	At least 2 reference(s) must be provided.

Overview

This study examines why some highly skilled professionals in Turkey aspire to migrate abroad, while others choose to stay, especially in the face of the country’s economic and political instability.The research addresses key questions: Why do some highly skilled individuals decide to leave Turkey while others stay? How do political and economic challenges shape these decisions, and how are these future aspirations coupled with transnational strategies of social mobility? How migration-related information circulated in social media shapes these future aspirations?
Given the target group’s extensive use of social media and access to online networks, the study hypothesizes that aspirations to stay or move are significantly influenced by social media interactions and both positive and negative feedback from these platforms. Accordingly, the study will examine the ways in which social media and online networks shape the aspirations of highly skilled individuals to either stay or leave.