“The Summer Institute provided me with invaluable tacit knowledge. As a graduate student finishing my PhD, the program helped me not only to conceptualize the field of economic geography, but also to imagine my own place within it. Early conversations with peers that I met in Madison during that week in 2006 continue on to this day.”
Marion Werner, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Geography, SUNY-Buffalo
“The Summer institute in Economic Geography provided me with a new analytical view towards the field. The expert faculty demonstrated how wide the theoretical base of economic geography is. The diverse student body was a true representation of economic geography. I recommend this experience to every young scholar interested in economic geography.”
Shiri M. Breznitz, PhD, Assistant Professor, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto
“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
"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
“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