“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

“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

“It was an honor to participate in the Summer Institute in Economic Geography in Zurich! I have never thought that I could communicate face-to-face with those big names printed inside the top journals of economic geography. Over the years, the summer institute has built a bridge between western and non-western economic geographers, allowing me and other young participants have the precious chance to introduce our work. Most of all, I have built solid friendships with some young scholars with shared research interests, with continuing benefits for me. With best wishes for the future of our Summer Institute in Economic Geography!”

Juncheng Dai, PhD, Lecturer, Cultural Economics Research Institute, Central University of Finance and Economics, China

"A fantastic six-day intensive all around economic geography, from discussing main lines of recent research, different methodologies, publishing strategies and career building, to connecting to peers and leading faculty from all around the world. The summer institute can be highly recommended to PhD candidates and postdocs.”

Melanie Fasche, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto

"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