RESEARCH NETWORK TITLE:

Regional Studies Association Research Network on Knowledge, Innovation and Regional Development in South America (KIRDSA)

This research network aims to promote research on regional development in South America, focused on knowledge flows and innovation capabilities. Knowledge capabilities are unevenly distributed within national and subnational territories in South America, a region characterized by a peripheral but significant role in global knowledge production. These countries have a rich background of research in this field, which is associated with urban development, production agglomerations, emigration fluxes, and the role of universities, among others. It is highly relevant to articulate research activities to advance our understanding of the regional development processes that promote knowledge creation and improve access to global knowledge flows. This network aims to contribute to facing these challenges by producing relevant evidence and discussing it with policymakers (KIRDSA).

The research network organisers are Dr Pablo Galaso (University of the Republic – Uruguay), Sergio Palomeque (University of the Republic – Uruguay) and Andrea Belmartino (Gran Sasso Science Institute – Italy).

EVENT TITLE:

Workshop on the Geographical Economy of Innovation.

DATE AND PLACE OF EVENT:

October 29 – November 1, 2024, Montevideo, Uruguay

ORGANISER(S)’ NAME(S):

Andrea Belmartino, Pablo Galaso and Sergio Palomeque

Event summary

This event aimed to engage the academic community and other interested parties in activities focused on Geographic Economics of Innovation, hosted by the IECON’s Development Research Group at UdelaR and the Research Network on Knowledge, Innovation, and Regional Development in South America (KIRDSA).

The event featured workshops, seminars, and discussions led by Dr. Sergio Petralia, an expert in the field. Key objectives included:
• Sharing insights on non-traditional data sources for innovation research.
• Training participants in techniques such as text mining, data collection using APIs, and web scraping.
• Exploring challenges in academic publishing within the field.
• Providing opportunities for students and researchers to engage directly with Dr. Petralia for mentorship and discussions on research and postgraduate studies.

20 participants and one presenter from 3 countries.

The event featured Dr. Sergio Petralia as the main speaker.

The details of his presentations are as follows:

29th October

Workshop: “Squeezing the Data Lemon: How to find your way around non-traditional sources of innovation data”

Sessions:
▪ Discussion on non-traditional data sources:
▪ Revisiting patent data
▪ Revisiting academic publication data
▪ Exploring GitHub data
▪ Hands-on work with R:
▪ Text mining
▪ Using APIs for data download
▪ Web scraping techniques
▪ Automatic data collection using robots
▪ Challenges in academic publishing in Geographic Economics of Innovation.

30th October

Academic Seminar:

Title: “Innovation Complementarities in Open Source Software” (Source).

Following the workshop’s conclusion, we seized the opportunity to announce and introduce the upcoming KIRDSA-RSA event. Leveraging the presence of attendees, we effectively disseminated and elucidated the event’s objectives (Source).

Key Discussions:

1. Non-Traditional Innovation Data:

  • Revisiting and extracting insights from patent and academic publication data.
  • Leveraging new platforms like GitHub to understand innovation processes.

2. Practical Data Analysis:

  • Applications of R for large-scale text analysis.
  • Techniques for efficient data acquisition using APIs and web scraping.
  • Challenges and ethics in using robots for data collection.

3. Challenges in Academic Publishing:

  • Navigating the complexities of publishing innovation research in top-tier journals.
  • Strategies to position Geographic Economics of Innovation as a critical field in academia.

4. Open Source Innovation:

  • Examining complementarities in open-source.
  • Discussing how open-source software contributes to innovation ecosystems.

Contribution to the aim of KIRDSA:

1. Knowledge Sharing: Dr. Sergio Petralia’s expertise in Geographic Economics of Innovation enriched the participants’ understanding of innovation research, particularly in utilizing non-
traditional data sources.

2. Capacity Building: Workshops provided practical skills in advanced data analysis techniques, such as text mining, API usage, and web scraping, equipping researchers and students with tools relevant to modern innovation studies.

3. Network Building: The event fostered collaboration between regional researchers and an international expert, strengthening KIRDSA’s network.

4. Mentorship: Opportunities for one-on-one meetings with Dr. Petralia allowed participants to receive personalized advice on research and postgraduate study options, supporting regional talent development.

The next confirmed event will be the “II INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH AMERICA ” (Source)

Photo report

About the author of this report

Sergio Palomeque. PhD candidate at Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina. Researcher at the Institute of Economics – Universidad de la República, Uruguay. His research areas are economic geography, economics of innovation and economic complexity.