A number of innovative growth areas, for instance herbal medicine (TCM), food, biofuel and rural tourism can be found in rural areas. It is therefore interesting to study innovation and learning in this connection.
Innovation is considered the most significant growth driver in global society. Innovation does not really make sense without learning taking place where the value of innovation can be crystallised in ecomic and social development in the rural areas.
Assuming that innovation is extroverted – you have to do something new and different than you do today and that learning is introverted – one must do something better today, a conflict arises and moreover a dependence between these two concepts. Both concepts are often mentioned and absolutely necessary in the globalized economy, at least for development in the western world. Therefore, these two concepts are requested to be analysed further with the following research approach:
Under which conditions can innovation and learning be mutually supportive and create progress, and under which conditions are barriers for progress created?
This theme provides the framework for my PhD and is part of a major project called LIV, a project which is financed by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries. The three project partners are: Danish Institute of Rural Research and Development (IFUL) at the University of Southern Denmark, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at Aarhus University and Institute of Food and Resource Economics at University of Copenhagen (KVL).
The overall title of the LIV project is:
Innovation in agricultural enterprises in rural areas: Best practice strategies and development scenarios
My final PhD will consist of a collection of articles which also will be included in the LIV project.
The PhD project started on 1 February 2008 and will be finished on 1 June 2011.Contact person:
Tove Brink, Ph.d. fellow, tbr@sam.sdu.dk or tel. +45 6550 4226