Team

How We Started

The idea for a migration-focused initiative within a business school context first emerged in 2019 during a conversation with Prof. Gunther Maier (Modul University Vienna), who encouraged us — Aida Hajro and Milda Žilinskaitė — to take our passion for research and teaching on migration a step further. In 2020, with the support of Prof. Maier and Prof. Wolfgang Mayrhofer (Vienna University of Economics and Business), we explored establishing a migration-focused academic center at Vienna University of Economics and Business. However, we (Aida and Milda) soon realized that such efforts could not be confined to a single university or country. What was needed was a broad, open, and international platform that would bring together scholars, practitioners, and policy experts across borders. This vision became the foundation for a global initiative that we have been building for over five years now. Since April 2025, Migration, Business & Society has been registered as a non-profit organization in Austria, with the two of us as its Founding Co-Directors.