UNU-MERIT and CRES become official twinning partners Posted: 2009-11-02 | Updated: 2009-11-19
On October 9, the UNU-Rector, Prof. Konrad Osterwalder and the Senegalese Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Prof. Amadou Tidiane Ba, signed an agreement for the establishment of a United Nations University Institute in Dakar, Senegal, within two years from now. The new UNU institute, which will be the formal twinning structure for collaborative activities between UNU-MERIT and the Consortium pour la Recherche Economique et Sociale (CRES), Dakar, will undertake economic research activities related to innovation and accelerated and sustainable development. It will also provide training in the form of a doctoral-level academic program as well as policy-oriented modules for officials from both African and international administrations. Other members of the delegation were: Prof. Abdoulaye Diagne (Director of CRES), Prof. dr. Luc Soete (Director of UNU-MERIT), Dr. Théophile Azomahou (Senior researcher, UNU-MERIT) and Dr. Micheline Goedhuys (Researcher, UNU-MERIT).
On the same day, the delegation met with the President of Senegal, Mr. Abdoulaye Wade who granted his personal support and the support of his government to the establishment of the new UNU institute in Dakar. The President of Senegal and the Rector of UNU hope the new institute will bring together African researchers from across continent, and that the institute will become a centre of excellence in research and training.
The hottest Globelics Conference ever… Posted: 2009-11-02 | Updated: 2009-11-19
That is how some participants described Globelics Dakar 2009 (6-8 October), which received over 350 researchers from all over the world, including a large amount of African scholars. The successful conference provided a unique occasion for sharing knowledge and expertise on innovation and development from Africa and beyond. The conference was jointly organised by UNU-MERIT and CRES, Dakar, and was held with full support and under the distinguished patronage of Mr. Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal. President Wade chaired the opening ceremony and addressed in his speech the full spectrum of topics that were covered in the conference sessions. The next Globelics Conference will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 1-3 November, 2010.
UNU-MERIT congratulates Senior Researcher Rene Kemp who has become Full Professor of Innovation and Sustainable Development at ICIS, Maastricht University. Rene, who is well known for his work on eco-innovation, environmental policy and transition management, will continue at UNU-MERIT as a Professorial Fellow.
Pathways to Industrialisation: UNU-WIDER, UNIDO and UNU-MERIT sign agreement Posted: 2009-11-02
The international workshop ‘Pathways to industrialization in the 21st century: New challenges and emerging paradigms’ that took place at UNU-MERIT on 22-23 October, marked the kick-off for cooperation between the World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University (UNU-WIDER), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and UNU-MERIT. The organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding, leading to deeper cooperation through a Programme titled ‘Emerging Challenges and New Paradigms in Industrial Development’. The aim is to develop a framework to guide industrial development initiatives in developing countries and to provide training at academic as well as policy level for the period 2009 to 2013. The workshop itself was attended by 27 renowned international professors and researchers.
DEIP in El Salvador Posted: 2009-11-02 | Updated: 2009-11-03
DEIP coordinator Adam Szirmai
A team of UNU-MERIT researchers led by Professor Adam Szirmai & Dr. Michiko IIzuka, and the Ministry of Economy, Government of El Salvador jointly organized a training course on the Design and Evaluation of Innovation Policy (DEIP) in San Salvador, El Salvador 26-30 October 2009. The aim of the workshop was to improve the understanding of how innovation policy can be used to identify and generate productive activities in the Salvadoran context. The workshop which had 68 participants was opened by the Minister for the Economy, Ing. Hector Dada Hirezi and received plenty of attention in the local media. Possibilities for future follow up are being explored
From 12-23 October the DIMETIC programme, which trains younger economists interested in the Dynamics of Institutions and Markets in Europe took place at UNU-MERIT. The training sessions were attended by 17 PhD-students from twelve different countries. This year’s sessions emphasised modelling, systems and dynamics.
Claire Nauwelaers leaving the institute Posted: 2009-11-02
As from 1 November, Claire Nauwelaers (Belgium), one of UNU-MERIT’s senior research-fellows, will leave the institute for OECD in Paris. Claire joined UNU-MERIT in 1996 and became responsible for the institute’s research theme on governance of science, technology and innovation. Her main areas of research and expertise revolve around the analysis and policy advice on innovation systems and research, technology and innovation policy. UNU-MERIT would like to thank Claire for all her valuable research efforts and wishes her all the best in her future career.
UNU/UNESCO international conference on Africa Posted: 2009-11-02 | Updated: 2009-11-03
"Africa & Globalization - Learning from the Past, Enabling a Better Future" was the name of a UNU/UNESCO conference on Africa that took place on 28-29 September, at UNU-headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.
The conference emphasized the socio-economic and political problems and challenges globalization brings to the continent. The event was attended by many high-level researchers and politicians, among them were Prof. Konrad Osterwalder, Rector of United Nations University and Dr. Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). UNU-MERIT research-fellow Rishab Ghosh, took part in a session discussing IT in Africa and sustainable development.
Innovation Strategies for a Global Economy - Development, Implementation, Measurement and Management Posted: 2009-11-02 | Updated: 2009-11-05
Fred Gault
Written by Fred Gault, Professorial Fellow at UNU MERIT. Published by Edward Elgar Publishing.
Innovation provides a path to sustainable growth but a strategy for innovation in a global economy is no longer national. Countries must attract people and investment from abroad and participate in world markets and institutions. This book starts with the language and system framework used to discuss innovation, and the statistical indicators needed to describe the activity. It then looks at innovation strategies, their components and their management before proposing directions for new work in developed and developing countries.
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[2009-048] Z. Babutsidze: R&D Behaviour and the Emergence of Fat-Tailed Firm Size Distributions abstract
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[2009-047] M. Kanerva, A. Arundel & R. Kemp: Environmental innovation: Using qualitative models to identify indicators for policy abstract
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[2009-046] A. Hall & N. Clark: What Do Complex Adaptive Systems Look Like and What Are the Implications for Innovation Policy? abstract
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[2009-045] Z. Babutsidze & R. Cowan: Inertia, Interaction and Clustering in Demand abstract
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[2009-044] F. Chen & P. Mohnen: FDI, R&D and Innovation Output in the Chinese Automobile Industry abstract
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[2009-043] B. Droste-Franke, J. Krüger, S. Lingner & T. Ziesemer: Explaining the lack of dynamics in the diffusion of small stationary fuel cells abstract
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