The 2018 Globelics PhD Academy represented an important moment in the geographical development of the doctoral training program as the Academy was hosted in Tshwane, South Africa. Moving the program to the African continent provided an opportunity to place innovation and development debates within a region where questions of structural transformation, inequality, technological capabilities and inclusive development have particular relevance.
The Academy was organized in collaboration with South African institutions connected to the Globelics community and continued the network’s longstanding objective of strengthening research capacity in developing and emerging economies. South Africa had already played an important role in Globelics history, including hosting the network’s international conference in Pretoria in 2005. The 2018 doctoral program reinforced these connections by creating a dedicated setting for emerging researchers to discuss innovation from African as well as international perspectives.
One of the principal contributions of hosting the Academy in Tshwane was the possibility of examining innovation through development challenges visible across the continent. Innovation systems in African economies operate within highly diverse institutional and productive structures. Issues such as capability building, industrial development, access to technology, universities and research institutions, informal economic activities and the relationship between innovation and social inclusion provide important areas for investigation.
The Academy approached these questions through a doctoral training model centered on interaction. Participating researchers presented ongoing work and discussed conceptual, empirical and methodological problems with senior scholars and other doctoral candidates. Rather than treating participants simply as students receiving established knowledge, the program incorporated their research experiences into broader discussions. This was particularly valuable in an international network because evidence from African, Asian, Latin American and other contexts could contribute to reconsidering theories traditionally developed from the experience of industrialized economies.
The 2018 edition also supported connections between researchers who might otherwise work within geographically distant academic communities. The relationships created through the Academy could facilitate future participation in Globelics conferences, publications and international collaborations. Research capacity building was therefore understood not only as improving individual dissertations but also as strengthening networks through which knowledge could circulate.
Hosting the Academy in Tshwane consequently carried both academic and institutional significance. It demonstrated the capacity of the Globelics doctoral program to operate in different regional environments while retaining a shared focus on innovation and development. More importantly, the South African edition emphasized that understanding global innovation requires serious engagement with the experiences and challenges of developing economies. By creating a platform for doctoral researchers to contribute these perspectives, the 2018 Academy strengthened the geographically inclusive character of the Globelics research community.