“I had the opportunity to attend the Economic Geography Summer Institute in Zurich in 2012. The opportunity was perfectly timed for me as I was about to embark on my dissertation fieldwork in the Fall of that year. First of all, without the financial aid the Institute provided, it would not have been possible for me to attend and I am grateful to the organisers for making that happen for me. The Institute was very well organised and reflected the hard work that went into it by the organisers as well as the hosts. The faculty represented a whole range of perspectives within the field of economic geography. Their talks at the Institute not only provided a great history of the diverse set of past and ongoing research in the field but also provided an insight into the new and cutting edge theoretical explorations being engaged in. Personal one-on-one discussions with the faculty also allowed me to better focus and contextualize the research questions I was about to examine in my own work. Aside from theoretical engagements in economic geography, the discussions also focused on other interesting issues such as practical applications in policy, negotiating the precarious job market, and academic writing and publishing.”
Aman Luthra, doctoral researcher, Department of Geography & Environmental Engineering, Johns Hopkins University