“The Summer Institute in Economic Geography has been a very rich experience for me. Its mixture of different perspectives on the field, involving productive debate and engagement between them, creates new and exciting inputs for theory, methods and practice which are especially important for those of us in the beginning of our academic trajectories. The spaces for informal interactions during the event also open up productive dialogues and help strengthen contacts between participants. In my specific case, working outside the Anglophone and northern academic circuits, it has been not only an opportunity to interact directly with researchers inserted in those contexts, but also with other global south academics, with whom we tend to have difficulties in engaging directly (due to still weak south to south connections).”

Felipe Magalhães, doctoral researcher, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

“It is when you step outside of your cultural comfort zone that you are given the opportunity to learn the most about yourself. The Summer Institute was one of these opportunities for me. Bringing together participants and mentors from a range of theoretical cultures and backgrounds in a respectful environment, it offered a richness of alternative perspectives and ideologies. It encouraged me to interrogate my belief system, which in turn helped me to question and reframe my own research. As well, an even greater outcome was the chance to connect with a global network of colleagues and friends with whom I will continue to engage with into the future.”

Kirsten Martinus, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Earth and Environment, University of Western Australia

“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 Summer Institute has become a right of passage in economic geography. It’s the can’t-miss, traveling genius loci where young scholars in the field can forge connections across continents that produce conference panels, special issues and other collaborations for years to come. It’s been less than a year since I attended and it’s already responsible for one conference panel, and a special issue is in the works.”

Mark Kear, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Geography and Development, University of Arizona

"Thanks to the summer institute got to know a bunch of fantastic young economic geographers from around the world, several of whom I'm still in touch with today. Since the summer institute I feel part of the economic geography research community—much more than before. It greatly broadened and deepened my understanding of economic geography. I wouldn't want to have missed it."

Karin Schwiter, PhD, research group leader, Department or Geography, University of Zurich, Switzerland