Vacancy: Two Ph.D. positions Subject: The Geography of Knowledge Production - Innovation, Networks and Economic Growth

The Ph.D. candidate will work on theoretical and empirical issues concerning the geography of knowledge production. The main theoretical concepts in this programme come from social network theory, evolutionary economics and complexity theory. Examples of possible topics include (i) the dynamics of urban growth in Europe and the US using patent data, (ii) international collaboration among scientists and engineers, (iii) the global labour mobility of scientists and engineers, (iv) urban hierarchies in science and technology, (v) the emergence of ‘small worlds’ in co-authorship networks, (vi) the geography of emerging technologies. The project leaves room for candidates to develop their own research

The Ph.D. candidate will participate within a larger research programme devoted to the analysis of evolutionary dynamics in knowledge production financed by the Netherlands Organisation for Science Research (NWO) under the VIDI scheme. The candidate will become a member of the Urban and Regional research centre Utrecht (URU) and will follow Ph.D. courses provided by NETHUR and DIMETIC. Possibilities are provided for research periods abroad.


We are looking for candidates with a Master’s degree or equivalent in geography, economics, sociology, or a related discipline, preferably with experience with quantitative research.

We offer a fulltime job for a period of four years conditional upon an evaluation after one year. The candidate receives a gross salary of 1,956 euro in the first year increasing to 2,472 euro in the final year. If needed, assistance with finding accommodation is provided by the university.

For more information please contact dr. Koen Frenken at k.frenken@geo.uu.nl or (0031) (0)30 253 2466.

Application letters including motivation and CV need to be sent before Monday 2 July 2007 to k.frenken@geo.uu.nl