Summary of 37th ERSA Summer School – Oviedo
ERSA SUMMER SCHOOL 2024 IN OVIEDO
From the 3rd to the 7th of June, the 37th ERSA Summer School took place at the School of Economics and Business in Oviedo (Spain), organized by REGIOlab and the European Regional Science Association (ERSA) in collaboration with the University of Oviedo, the Regional Science Association International (RSAI), and the Spanish Regional Science Association (AECR).
The Summer School this time was focused on the theme “Quantitative Methods Addressing Geographical Imbalances: New Techniques, Frameworks and Applications”. The program offered a combination of different sessions: lectures and hands-on practical sessions, tutorials, and students’ presentations. The lectures and hands-on sessions were specially focused on specific techniques such as: 1) Artificial Intelligence and machine learning, 2) Estimating Local Data using Entropy Econometrics, 3) Geographically Weighted Regressions (GWR), 4) Network Analysis for Economic Geography, and 5) Geographical Information Systems (GIS).
Day by day, these lectures and tutorials were taught by top scholars in the field and renowned experts in their respective methods: Katarzyna Kopczewska (University of Warsaw), Esteban Fernández-Vazquez (University of Oviedo), Diana Gutiérrez-Posada (University of Oviedo), Alberto Díaz-Dapena (University of Oviedo), Emmanouil Tranos (University of Bristol), and Carles Méndez-Ortega (Open University of Catalonia).
Throughout the week, the group of 19 students coming from 12 different countries worked together and had the chance to discuss their work with each other in a collaborative atmosphere.
One of the main objectives of this 37th Summer School was to foster interaction between students, and with professors and early-career researchers by means of interactive and participatory discussion sessions, moving beyond traditional classes and presentations.
On Wednesday afternoon, we had the chance to do an alternative activity and enjoy the nature and landscape of Asturias by taking a bike ride along the Senda del Oso path. We even had the chance to see a bear!
All in all, it was a great week full of very interesting and inspiring lectures, incredibly impressive presentations from students sharing their passion for their research, and social and networking activities that will remain in our memories forever. As was evident during the Summer School the future of regional science is very bright with this excellent generation of researchers!