Symposium 11 - Knowledge and Networks
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How does knowledge emerge and circulate in contemporary society, and what makes it a central resource for learning and innovation? Knowledge arises through social interaction and collective learning, connecting people, companies, and networks across physical and virtual spaces. As a relational resource, it requires bringing distributed knowledge together, while new theoretical perspectives, methodologies, and concepts have emerged from relational thinking. Insights from social network analysis have enabled groundbreaking discoveries and reshaped how we study collective learning. Knowledge and Networks explores key challenges: reconciling culture and connectivity in relational theories, capturing non-relational practices of collective learning, understanding how whole networks enable knowledge creation at regional scales, and the impact of emergent change and institutional entrepreneurship on network evolution. How can we understand the forces that shape knowledge networks and their capacity to foster learning?
Symposium 12 - Geographies of the University
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How do universities function as key actors in the global knowledge economy, and what makes them pivotal sites of research, teaching, and cultural exchange? Universities not only attract creative minds and intellectuals from around the world but also provide graduates, innovations, and international networks that influence economic, social, and cultural development. At the same time, universities are shaped by the political, social, and economic conditions of their urban and regional contexts. Geographies of the University examines how greater awareness of the histories, geographies, and practices of universities can inform current debates about their future. By conceptualizing universities as nodes in local, regional, national, and international networks, the discussion focuses on spaces of knowledge production, cultural encounter, and the economic impacts of employability and entrepreneurship.
Symposium 13 - Knowledge and Institutions
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How do institutions shape economic, organizational, and social development, and what makes them enduring yet adaptable across time and space? Institutions, whether understood as formal or informal rules, organizations, stable interaction patterns, or cultural blueprints, provide the conditions in which societies operate, yet they vary historically and geographically and are difficult to replicate. This symposium brings together experts from across the social sciences to explore how institutions persist and change, how regional variations affect their outcomes, and how institutional work can navigate the paradox of embedded agency to create new structures. It also examines how institutions influence innovation and knowledge creation at regional scales, considering both their stabilizing and transformative roles. How can we understand the mechanisms through which institutions matter for shaping social, economic, and knowledge landscapes?
Symposium 14 - Geographies of Schooling
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How do schools shape and reflect the social, cultural, and spatial landscapes in which they are situated? Since the introduction of compulsory education, schools have been at the center of political and ideological debates while also playing a key role in regional planning. Embedded in specific socio-economic, demographic, and cultural contexts, schools influence and are influenced by their environments. Geographies of Schooling examines the geographies of schooling, considering how location patterns, planning ideologies, and governance structures evolve over time. Themes include national and regional school systems, the comparative advantages of small versus large schools, the shift from national planning to regional educational governance, the positioning of schools within education markets, and the role of schools as socializing institutions and expressions of local culture. How can we understand the spatial and social dimensions that shape schooling today?
Symposium 15 - Knowledge for Governance
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How can societies address complex development challenges when neither hierarchical state regulation nor market mechanisms alone provide sufficient solutions? Issues such as overexploitation of natural resources, conflicting stakeholder interests, collective knowledge creation, and social disruptions after natural disasters reveal the limits of traditional governance. Mixed forms of governance and collective self-regulation are increasingly necessary to coordinate action, settle conflicts, and create societal welfare. Knowledge is central in these processes, yet it is unevenly distributed, context-dependent, and valued differently across space, time, and domains. Governance therefore requires negotiation, adaptation, and context-specific coordination rather than autonomous action. Knowledge for Governance explores these dynamics, examining the roles of localized and domain-specific knowledge in shaping governance, innovation, and risk management. How can we understand the ways knowledge shapes governance and the creation of societal solutions across varied contexts?
Symposium 16 - Space, Place and Educational Settings
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How do social and environmental contexts shape learning and educational attainment, and in turn, how are these contexts shaped by education? Learning is influenced by a complex interplay of factors, ranging from individual cognitive skills and experiences to classroom quality, teacher effectiveness, and broader out-of-school conditions such as parental background, neighborhood, and access to education. Space, Place and Educational Settings investigates the role of socio-environmental settings in shaping learning outcomes. It explores how social and spatial environments can enable or constrain educational opportunities, how learning processes reproduce or transform these contexts, and how their effects manifest across geographical scales, from national and regional levels to the micro-scale of classrooms and libraries. How can we understand and optimize the interplay between socio-environmental settings and educational attainment?
Symposium 17 - Knowledge and Civil Society
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How does civil society shape knowledge creation, interpretation, and regional development, and what roles do non-profit and non-governmental organizations play as agents of change? Increasingly, learning and innovation extend beyond universities, as civic and philanthropic engagement influences education, research, and societal debates at local, regional, and global scales. Knowledge and Civil Society discusses how civil society contributes to knowledge production, how it frames societal meaning through advocacy and agenda-setting, and how it shapes regional social and economic transformation. It explores how organizations adapt to local needs, organize learning networks, and facilitate knowledge flows, as well as how grassroots and global movements influence identity, political will, and regional development. The symposium highlights the complex interplay of place, networks, and innovation. How can we understand the transformative potential of civil society in shaping knowledge and regional futures?
Symposium 18 - Profession and Proficiency
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Professions and Proficiency discusses how the generation of new knowledge is fundamental to innovation. Studying the tangible imprints of such knowledge on products and services has been crucial to the appraisal of innovation for the global knowledge economy. Yet new products embody only part of new knowledge, which often leaves no tangible trace but exists enigmatically as proficiency of individuals and in the collective agency of professions and epistemic communities. Furthermore, the rise and demise of knowledge is situated in geographical context and evolves unequally between places and across space. While innovation research has focused predominantly on tangible innovations in products and technologies, the innovation of such intangibles as new ideas, designs, business models, and services seems to have received somewhat less research attention.
Symposium 19 - Knowledge and Digital Technology
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How does technological change reshape human knowledge, learning, and the spatial relations of society? Structural transformation in culture, institutions, and technology is driven by new ways of thinking, innovations, and the use of digital technologies. The rise of big data, machine learning, augmented reality, automation, and robotics has altered how we observe, know, and act, while simultaneously challenging which skills and forms of knowledge remain relevant. Knowledge and Digital Technology explores the reciprocal relationship between technology and knowledge, the influence of digital tools on spatial and social interactions, and the ethical dilemmas arising from algorithmic decision-making and cognitive enhancement. By examining how technology shapes learning, data use, and human understanding, the symposium highlights the transformative potential and constraints of digital innovations. How can we understand the ways technology redefines knowledge, space, and societal life?
Symposium 20 - Placing the Future
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How can we anticipate and shape the future in a world defined by uncertainty, and what role do knowledge and space play in this endeavor? The rise of post-industrial knowledge societies, innovation-based economies, and evidence-driven policies has transformed how societies navigate change, yet it has also generated debates over what progress means, who defines it, and how to prepare for unforeseen challenges. Placing the Future explores the interplay between knowledge, place, and futurity, examining how collective understanding, social exchange, and interactive learning across communities influence decision-making. It considers how geographical spaces foster the generation and dissemination of visions, mobilize resources, and shape regional transformations. The symposium highlights the social and spatial dimensions of anticipation and action. How can we understand the ways knowledge and place shape our capacity to imagine and enact tomorrow?