ITAUSMIGR was a leading Marie Curie project (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions - MSCA), funded by the European Union. It was conceived and led by Dr. Gabriele Abbondanza, an international relations expert with considerable academic, institutional, and public engagement experience.

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Dr. Abbondanza's Marie Curie project was funded for three years (2023-2026) by the European Union through EU grant no. 847635, which supported the project with a total of 173,628 euros. ITAUSMIGR was mostly carried out at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) - Spain's oldest and largest university - although it was also nuanced by several research trips to Italy and Australia.

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ITAUSMIGR stands for "A comparative analysis of Italian and Australian approaches to irregular migration and seaborne asylum seekers", which is the project's full title. Dr. Abbondanza's Marie Curie project straddled international relations, international security, and migration studies, therefore providing a long-overdue and timely scientific contribution to the study of - and the policy recommendations for - irregular migration governance, one of the most significant and sensitive global issues of the 21st century.

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Over the years, the ITAUSMIGR project has successfully contributed to current debates concerning irregular migration governance, providing novel insights concurrently centred on destination countries, their local populations, and migrants themselves. In particular, Dr. Abbondanza's Marie Curie project has produced:

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• innovative academic publications (books, journal articles, book chapters)

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• policy recommendations through policy papers and private consultations

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• academic presentations in international conferences, roundtables, and seminars

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• contributions to institutional (political) debates

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• op-eds

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• media interviews

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• new university courses

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• invited lectures in several universities​

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The majority of the above activities is freely-accessible thanks to ITAUSMIGR's research funds. To know more about them, please see Dr. Gabriele Abbondanza's research, teaching, and media activities.

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The ITAUSMIGR project was successfully completed in August 2025, four months before its scheduled end.

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Should you wish to contact Gabriele, please see here.