KEY NOTE SPEAKERS
André Torre
He is a research professor at the University of Paris Saclay and National Institute for Agronomic Research (INRA), involved in Agro Paris Tech. He is Vice President of ERSA (European Regional Science Association), Head of PSDR (Pour et Sur le Développement Régional) and Managing editor of RERU (Revue d’Économie Régionale et Urbaine). His current research has a multidisciplinary approach and is focused on questions related to land use planning and territorial development processes, particularly on two main areas: (1) Local interactions between innovative firms, particularly the role played by geographical proximity in the transfer of knowledge; and (2) Land use and neighbourhood conflicts. He is the scientific coordinator of the project TASTE − Towards A Smart Rural Europe (http://taste-smarteurope.eu) −, a pluri-disciplinary research project supported by the European Commission and funding bodies in 4 countries in the framework of FP7 and the RURAGRI ERA-NET.
Luis Miguel Albisu
Is Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics (Cornell University). He has pursued his research career at the Agrofood Research and Technology Centre of Aragón (CITA) where he is now the Chairman of the Scientific Committee. His main research interests have been dealing with different aspects of the agrofood chain and lately with knowledge transfer in rural areas. He has published in the most important European journals and has had editorial responsibilities in several international journals. He has interacted with different institutions, such as, the Agronomic Mediterranean Institute of Zaragoza (IAMZ), International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV), European Union Commission, research centres and universities in many countries.
Andrew Copus
is, since 2013, senior researcher at the Social, Economic and Geographical Sciences Group at the James Hutton Institute and of the Nordregio (Nordic Centre for Spatial Development, Stockholm). He was previously Senior Research Fellow at and the Centre for Remote and Rural Studies, University of the Highlands and Islands. Andrew is an economic geographer by training, whose research interests relate to the changing rural economy and rural/regional policy. He has a long-standing interest in territorial rural development and regional disparities, which through recent projects is presented as “rural cohesion policy”.
His on-going and recent projects include:
REGINA Regional Innovation in the Nordic Arctic and Scotland with a Special Focus on Regions with Large-Scale Projects, Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme; Mapping Rural Socio-Economic Performance (SEP), Report for Rural Communities Team, Food, Drink and Rural Communities Division, The Scottish Government (2015);TiPSE (Territorial Dimensions of Poverty and Social Exclusion), funded by the European Observation Network for Territorial Development and Cohesion (ESPON). Andrew is project manager; Territorial Cohesion in Rural Europe – A collection of contributions by leading rural researchers, advocating rural policy approaches centred on the concept of territorial cohesion. Co-edited with Philomena de Lima (University of the Highlands and Islands). Published by Routledge 2014. Winner of the 2015 Regional Studies Association best book award; EDORA (European Development Opportunities for Rural Areas) funded by the European Observation Network for Territorial Development and Cohesion (ESPON). Andrew was coordinator, under the auspices of the University of the Highlands and Islands.
