Nexus

Attending the TASA 2025 conference was a transformative milestone in my academic journey. As a PhD candidate based in New Zealand, I am incredibly grateful to have received a postgraduate bursary, which was instrumental in making my participation possible. The conference served as a vital bridge, allowing me to engage directly with a global community of sociologists. I found the thematic panels on ‘Migration, Ethnicity, and Multiculturalism’ particularly stimulating and the keynote by Professor Jenny Davis offered timely insights. For me, being a migration researcher myself, I attended most of the sessions from the Migration thematic panels and it was nice to hear what others were working on.

Presenting my research on the experiences of Asian migrant care workers (MCWs) in Aotearoa New Zealand’s aged care sector was a highlight. The event’s theme, “Sociology in Action! Wellbeing, Policy, and Activism in Times of Crises and Change,” perfectly aligned with my study’s focus. By highlighting the lived experiences of MCWs, my research addresses urgent policy issues surrounding global care labour shortages and social equity. Given that I have recently completed data collection and starting with the write-up, sharing my findings at this formative stage allowed me to gather constructive feedback from senior academics and peers. This input will be valuable as I refine my analysis and apply a critical migration perspective to the systemic challenges faced by this essential workforce. I feel that the participation at TASA has helped and motivated me for my thesis write up.

Beyond the intellectual rigor, I deeply appreciated the supportive, friendly atmosphere. The experience of TASA 2025 inspired and helped me to be part of the Australasian sociological community. This experience has been pivotal and I hope I would be able to attend future TASA conference, reconnect and bring some of my contributions to the fields of migration. My sincere thanks to TASA for their generous support.