“The Summer Institute in Economic Geography is an extraordinary event. It is somewhere in-between a state-of-the-art convention for economic geography (where it stands today and where it needs to evolve) and a rite of passage for early career scholars (once one gains a sense of “location” in something as fluid and difficult to grasp as an epistemic community). Valuable, indispensable, and highly recommended.”

Michiel van Meeteren, doctoral student, Department of Social and Economic Geography, Ghent University, Belgium

“As an alumnus of the first Summer Institute (2003), and a recent featured speaker (2014), I can say that it is one of the most significant and valuable professional events held regularly in the field of economic geography. Not only does the Institute provide participants with an opportunity to engage in intensive, stimulating, collegial, and highly substantive discussions about the field and emerging research agendas, it also serves a valuable role by helping current and recently graduated PhD students to understand the academic enterprise and the challenges of, among other things, navigating the publishing and professional worlds we work in. Several of the friendships and professional ties that began at the Institute I attended in 2003 have played a central role in my career development and I have seen many alumni emerge as leaders among the current and next generation of economic geographers. This is a vital initiative, one that strengthens and sustains the field by imbuing in its participants a sense of purpose, identity, and commitment to research and teaching that can deploy economic geography concepts and theories in ways that help us better understand the causes and potential solutions to pressing socioeconomic, political, and environmental issues worldwide.”

James T. Murphy, PhD, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Geography, Clark University

“I attended the SIEG 2014 in Frankfurt-am-Main. I really enjoyed the stimulating conversation and the friendly environment. I am thankful to organizers for their capacity to create a friendly environment facilitating creative scientific discussions. I strongly recommend the SIEG to all my colleagues.”

Nicola Francesco Dotti, PhD, postdoctoral researcher, Cosmopolis, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium

“SEIG spurs new conversations and collaborations between scholars working across a wide range of topics in economic geography. As an early-career faculty it allowed me to better situate my work in the field and inspired future research directions.”

Stephen Young, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin-Madison 

“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