The ninth Globelics PhD Academy returned to Tampere, Finland, in May 2013, continuing a partnership that had already hosted editions of the International PhD School on Innovation and Economic Development in 2008 and 2011. The 2013 Academy took place from 20 to 31 May and strengthened Tampere’s position as one of the principal locations in the development of Globelics’ international doctoral training activities.
Organized through TaSTI at the University of Tampere, the Academy remained closely connected to the broader mission of Globelics: strengthening research on innovation and development while creating international networks among emerging and established scholars. The Tampere editions were coordinated by researchers including Erkki Kaukonen, Mika Raunio and Mika Kautonen, whose involvement helped establish continuity between successive Finnish Academies.
The Academy’s educational philosophy placed doctoral researchers at the center of the program. Rather than relying solely on conventional lectures, Globelics combined advanced discussion of innovation research with presentations of ongoing doctoral work. This structure allowed students to examine their theoretical assumptions, methodological decisions and empirical findings in conversation with researchers working across different institutional and geographical environments.
The diversity of research represented at the 2013 Academy demonstrates the breadth of this approach. One documented contribution, presented by Michael O. S. Afolabi, examined the Nigerian healthcare system and questioned whether the country’s National Health Bill was sufficiently innovative. The research connected healthcare challenges with broader questions concerning institutions and innovation, illustrating how the Academy provided space for applying innovation perspectives to social sectors beyond conventional studies of industry and technological production.
Such contributions were particularly relevant to the Globelics approach because innovation was understood as a process embedded within societies. Economic structures, public institutions, universities, firms, healthcare systems and other organizations could all influence how knowledge was generated and used. The international composition of the Academy consequently enabled participants to compare these processes across countries with very different economic and institutional conditions.
The 2013 edition also consolidated the alternating international character that the Academy had acquired. After beginning in Lisbon, expanding to Tampere and then moving to Rio de Janeiro in 2012, its return to Finland illustrated the creation of a doctoral training network capable of operating across continents and institutional settings.
Through intensive academic interaction, research presentations and international networking, the ninth Globelics PhD Academy continued to prepare researchers to analyze innovation as part of wider processes of economic and social development. Tampere once again provided a meeting point where different experiences could contribute to a more globally inclusive understanding of innovation.