“I participated in SIEG as assistant to the organizing committee as well as panelist in one session. Besides the organizational tasks, I had the chance to build lasting friendships but also a professional network, which stretches far beyond the SIEG meeting. It proves valuable when it comes to future job plans and open career positions, not only because the participants come from everywhere but also because there is a good mixture between PhD researchers, postdocs and Assistant professors that enables an inspiring exchange of ideas and experiences. It was a great opportunity indeed at all levels: academic, professional and personal.”

Dorothee Niebuhr, doctoral researcher, Department of Geography, Goethe University Frankfurt

“The 2014 Summer Institute in Economic Geography was one of the most important academic events I have had the fortune of attending. While every facet of the meeting was superlative, the opportunity to spend time with economic geographers from different parts of the world, working on diverse topics, was invaluable both intellectually and socially. These connections will bear fruit throughout my career and have already led to collaborative projects that would not have happened otherwise.”

Patrick Bigger, PhD, Marie Curie Research Fellow in Political Ecology, School of Environment and Development, University of Manchester

"The SIEG 2016 was a wonderful and unique opportunity. It was a rich week of inspiration." Erika Machacek, PhD, Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland “The Summer Institute in Economic Geography is the ultimate alt-conference: it brings together a small, dynamic mix of early career scholars with geography’s leading voices in a way that allows for deep theoretical dives, methodological debates, topical discussions, and informal socializing. It was an experience like none other I've had in higher education, encouraging participants to feel at home amongst our peers and build relationships that will persist throughout our careers.”

Beth Gutelius, doctoral researcher, University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Urban Planning & Policy

“The 2012 Summer Institute in Economic Geography is the highlight of my experience with conferences and forums. Whilst fortunate to practice geography in New Zealand it comes with isolation from other economic geographers and geography conferences, and this tends to be reproduced at large events such as the AAG and RGS-IBG. As a platform, the Summer Institute, constituted by a group of prominent and emergent economic geographers, provided five days to specifically come to know each other and our diverse work, and discuss perspectives of economy geography around a set of disciplinary debates. Rather than just giving a paper and/or attending a conference session, I came away from the Summer Institute with an enriched perspective of economic geography (and economic geographers), a new set of relationships and opportunities for future research collaboration, and importantly, a commitment to being an economic geographer and contributing to our discipline.”

Stephen FitzHerbert, doctoral researcher, University of Auckland; Senior Tutor, Department of Geography, Massey University

“The Summer Institute for Economic Geography merged intense yet protracted discussion on pedagogy, theory, and method with social events and field trips that made friends and colleagues of senior and junior scholars. As a political economist, for me its significance extended beyond building connections with economic geographers and immersion in the discipline of Geography, it linked fellow travelers and academic debates from across the social sciences. Attending the Summer Institute in Frankfurt (2014) as a postdoc was a highly rare and fully rewarding experience!”

Heather Whiteside, PhD, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Waterloo