The SMC team participated in the AspirE Project’s final conference, organized by the Université Libre de Bruxelles in Brussels, Belgium, on 11-12 December 2025.

Dr. Maruja MB Asis (Senior Researcher of SMC and Principal Investigator of AspirE-Philippines) presented findings from the Philippine study of the AspirE project. Dr. Asis’s presentation highlighted the changing migration aspirations, labor markets and state policies in the Philippines-Europe migration corridor.

Also in attendance were Bernard Garcia and Eunice Tejada (Research Assistants of SMC and Early Career Researchers (ECR) of AspirE-Philippines). Eunice also participated in the final Steering Committee Meeting held on the second day of the conference as the ECR board representative from Asia.

Several Filipino scholars attended the event, including Dr. Roderick Galam of Oxford Brookes University (also the Book Review Editor of the Asian and Pacific Migration Journal), Ms. Anna Brillante Vibar, a PhD student at the University of Namur, Leila Marie Magno, a UPPI Masters student on an exchange program at the University of Namur, and Angela de Ocampo, a Masters student at the University of Milan.

We sincerely congratulate Dr. Asuncion Fresnoza-Flot (Principal Investigator of AspirE) and the AspirE project for a successful conclusion to the project.