MY JOURNEY WITHIN THE MIMY PROJECT

MY JOURNEY WITHIN THE MIMY PROJECT

When I applied to do an internship as a peer researcher in the MIMY project, I thought this would be an interesting experience, but I did not know exactly what it was about and what to expect since I had never even heard the term 'peer researcher' before.

As a peer researcher, my main tasks were to actively assist to researchers in the organization and conduct of interviews (finding the participants, participation in interviews and their transcription), as well as to create a blog entry about my opinions, reflections and personal experiences. Some of these tasks I liked more, such as participating in interviews, and some less, such as finding the participants or transcribing interviews. In any case, I think that all the tasks I did, as well as the entire experience in this project, were more than useful for me.

What was unexpected to me was how much, in fact, just by listening to other people's experiences, one’s reflection about a certain topic can develop and expand, and I often wondered how I did not think about it myself before I heard it. This is one of the things that marked this internship for me and for which I am grateful, because I did not expect to learn so many things and to actually change the way I listen to other people, because now I think that much can be learned just by listening to them. Of course, this does not mean that I agree with everything I hear, but it is certainly important to hear a different opinion.

Another thing that marked this internship for me is the research work itself. Prior to it, I did not think that research work can be so complex and that there were so many things that researchers need to know and pay attention to, from different research methods to strict ethical standards and data protection. Also, all their work needs to be reported by a certain deadline, which creates additional pressure, which is, I hope, reduced by the help of us, the peer researchers.

Last but not least, I am grateful to have been part of the MIMY team at the University of Luxembourg, also for their willingness to share their knowledge with us and for their patience and tolerance. I am sure that their work on this project, although it opened many questions, will lead to excellent results.

The authorBogdan

This post is the result of reflections of the group of young peer researchers at the University of Luxembourg. In the UL MIMY team peer researchers bring their unique experiences of migration, own perspectives and different backgrounds mirroring the diversity of Luxembourg.