Abstract

The paper describes a research project on students from Angola pursuing their university degrees in Portugal. The author will analyze individual and family trajectories and how they influence the decision of going abroad as well as the choice of a certain destination (particularly the choice of studying in Portugal). The study also attempts to interpret these strategies and trajectories as inscribed in Angola’s recent developments in post-colonial times (in both post-independency and post-socialism contexts), and how these dynamic contexts keep determining the specific conditions in which such individual and collective initiatives take place. Migrant capacities such as higher education, training, specialized skills and knowledge, human capital, combined with social capital (networks, norms and values that facilitate cooperation among individuals and groups), affective capital (commitment and good-will derived from emotional engagement in personal projects) and financial capital (savings, investments, remittances) are amongst the most influential factors in making development projects effective and sustainable.