MLW:Background Research for Scenario Building: Economic Clusters, Knowledge Economy and Development Strategies

Background Research for Scenario Building: Economic Clusters, Knowledge Economy and Development Strategies is a workshop organized in Bucharest, on May 27-29 2011, by Prof. Dragos Aligica.

May 28th
09:00 - 09:15 A welcome speech by Adrian Curaj. Introducing the programme of the conference-workshop and explaining the logic and role of the event by putting it in the larger context of the future-oriented “Quality and Leadership in Romanian Higher Education” project by Radu Gheorghiu. Introductory remarks by Paul Dragos Aligica, the moderator of the event. 09:15 - 10:30 Introducing the Magurele Project and various approaches and strategic views regarding the potential development of a research and economic cluster in the Magurele-Bucharest region 09:15 - 09:30 Adrian Curaj presentation 09:30 - 09:45 Presentation on the Economic Clusters in Magurele 09:45 - 10:30 Questions, answers, comments

10:30 - 11:30 Clusters, Functional Regions, and Cluster Polices Charlie Karlsson, President of the European Regional Science Association (ERSA), Professor of Economics, Director of INA, Jönköping International Business School, Sweden 10:30 - 11:00 Charlie Karlsson presentation 11:00 - 11:45 Questions, answers, comments

Coffee break

12:00 - 13:15 Emerging technology clusters: The case of nanodistricts -- path dependency or new pathways? Philip Shapira, Director, Manchester Institute of Innovation Research, Manchester Business School, Professor, School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA; and Director, Georgia Tech Program in Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy 12:00 - 12:30 Philip Shapira presentation 12:30 - 13:15 Questions, answers, comments

13:15 - 14:15 Lunch Break

14:15-15:30 The Central and Eastern European economic context: The missing dimensions of transformation Bruno Dallago, professor of economics at the University of Trento, Dean of the Faculty of Sociology and director of the School of Local Development at the University of Trento 14:15 - 14:45 Bruno Dallago presentation 14:45 - 15:30 Questions, answers, comments

15:30-16:45 The urban and regional context: The impact on urban productivity of three types of skilled-individual: college graduates, creatives and inventors Jose Lobo, Associate Research Professor at Arizona State University 15:30 - 16:00 Jose Lobo presentation 16:00 - 16:45 Questions, answers, comments

May 29th
09:00 - 10:15 Knowledge Networks and Learning Kingsley E. Haynes, Ruth D. and John T. Hazel MD Professor of Public Policy, former Dean of the School of Public Policy at George Mason University, member of the National Science Foundation's Decision, Risk and Management Science Panel and former President of the Regional Science International Association 09:00 - 09:30 Kingsley E. Haynes presentation 09:30 - 10:15 Questions, answers, comments

Coffee break

10:30 - 11:30 Clusters in Romania, Vision and Potential Radu Gheorghiu, PhD, Deputy Manager of the „Quality and Leadership for Romanian Higher Education” Project Dragos Pislaru, PhD, Director of Group of Applied Economics 10:30 - 10:45 Radu Gheorghiu presentation 10:45 - 11:00 Dragos Pislaru presentation 11:00 - 11:30 Questions, answers, comments

11:30 - 12:30 'Final colloquium: Revisiting the Magurele-Bucharest economic cluster idea. Comments, conclusions, further steps'

Lunch and the Conclusion of the Event

Adrian Curaj
Adrian Curaj is professor at the Polytechnic University of Bucharest (UPB) and the Director of the Strategic Management and Quality Assurance in Higher Education Center at UPB. He earned his PhD. from the Polytechnic University of Bucharest, in the field of Automatic Systems in 1998 and graduated the EMBA programme at ASEBUSS Bucharest and Seattle-Business School. He is General Director of the Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding (UEFISCDI) from September 2010 and was the General Director of the Executive Agency for Higher Education and Research Funding between 2000-2007 and 2008 -2009. He was Advisor for the Prime Minister from 2007 to 2008 on Science, Technologies, ICT and e-Governance. Between 2009 -2010 he was President of the National Authority for Scientific Research within the Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sports. Adrian Curaj was a Consultant for World Bank, UNESCO, UNIDO and European Commission in the field of Third Education, Science and Innovation, as well as Foresight. He is currently a member of External Advisory Board PEOPLE, European Commission from 2007. Adrian Curaj published several books and articles in important scientific journals, on the topics of research management and foresight. He is co-author to one of the invention that won the gold medal at the International Exhibition of Inventions in Geneva. For his significant contribution in Science and Innovation, Adrian Curaj received two distinctions granted by the Romanian President, the National Order for Merit in rank of Knight in 2000 and the National Order for Merit in rank of Grand Officer in 2008.

Bruno Dallago
Bruno Dallago is a professor of economics at the University of Trento in Italy, Dean of the Faculty of Sociology and director of the School of Local Development at the University of Trento. Dallago is a prolific lecturer and author in economic policy and comparative economics with extensive international experience. In addition to producing work on a variety of international economic topics, Dallago has held numerous appointments as a visiting scholar or professor in countries including the U.S., Japan, China and Hungary. Dallago is the editor of, among others, Local Economies and Global Competitiveness (Palgrave 2010) a book that addresses local-global nexuses via case studies of global interactions in developed and developing areas, and of particular firms' approaches to these issues. The study builds up a prospectus on how best to create globally capable localities Relevant publications: Local Economies and Global Competitiveness by Bruno Dallago and Chiara Guglielmetti (2010); Regional Diversity and Local Development in the New Member States by Paulus Blokker and Bruno Dallago (2009); Youth Entrepreneurship and Local Development in Central and Eastern Europe by Paul Blokker and Bruno Dallago, Paul Blokker, and Bruno Dallago (2008); Transformation and European Integration: The Local Dimension (Studies in Economic Transition), 2006.

Radu Gheorghiu
Radu Gheorghiu received the university degree in 1998 at the Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, and PhD degree in 2010 at the National Institute of Economic Research. Becoming a researcher at the Institute of World Economy in Bucharest in 1998, starting 2003 he has been running the "Competitiveness and Innovation" Department. Since 2004 he has been working with the Executive Agency for Higher Education in different national and international foresight projects, the most important ones being related to the future the Romanian research and development and Romanian higher education systems.

Kingsley E. Haynes
Kingsley E. Haynes, Ruth D. and John T. Hazel MD Professor of Public Policy, former Dean of the School of Public Policy at George Mason University, member of the National Science Foundation's Decision, Risk and Management Science Panel and former President of the Regional Science International Association. He also holds appointments in the departments of Decision Sciences, Geography and Public Affairs. Professor Haynes recent research activities have focused on minimum information forecasting and intelligent transportation systems. Research methodology has been related to risk assessment and decisions under conditions of uncertainty, mathematical programming applications, and the relationship between regional economic development, science and technology policy and smart infrastructure on domestic and international competitiveness. Professor Haynes has directed numerous research grants and contracts totaling over $50 million, co-authored or edited 5 books and over 300 articles and professional reports. He served as a member of the board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Social, Economic and Political Science Section. He has served as editor and has been on the editorial board of over a dozen international scholarly journals. In 2006 he was elected a Fellow of the Regional Science Association International. He received the Boyce Award in 1997 for his work in the Regional Science Association International, the Anderson Medal in 2000 for his activity in Applied Research and the Ullman Award in 2003 in recognition of his contribution to transportation research. In 2002 he was elected to the National Academy of Public Administration.

Charlie Karlsson
Charlie Karlsson holds a PhD in Economics from Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden and he is the President of the European Regional Science Association (ERSA). Charlie Karlsson is Professor of the Economics of Technological Change at Jönköping International Business School (JIBS), Jönköping, Sweden, Guest Professor of Economics at University West, Trollhättan, Sweden, Professor of Industrial Economics and Organization at Blekinge Institute of Technology, Ronneby, Sweden and Associate Professor of Regional Planning at the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. At JIBS he is the Director of the Institute of Industrial Analysis (INA) and the Centre for Innovation Systems, Entrepreneurship and Growth (CISEG). Professor Karlsson's research relates to regional economic development. Professor Karlsson defended his thesis in 1988 at Umeå University. He was appointed Professor of Economics at Jönköping International Business School in 2000. Relevant publications: Karlsson, C., B. Johansson. & R. Stough (Eds.) (2005). Industrial Clusters and Interfirm Networks, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, England, 504 pages; Johnansson, B., C. Karlsson & R. Stough (Eds.) (2001). Theories of Endogenous Regional Growth: Lessons for Regional Policies. Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag, 428 pages; Karlsson, C., R. Stough, & B. Johansson (eds.) (forthcoming 2009) Entrepreneurship and Innovations in Functional Regions, Cheltenham, UK, Edward Elgar Publishing.

José Lobo
Associate Research Professor at Arizona State University. He has a Ph.D., Regional Sciences, Cornell University. Field Specializations: Metropolitan Economic Performance, Location-Specific Economic Growth, Regions of Innovation, Social Networks, Urban Size and Scaling, Machine Learning, Data Mining, Spatial Statistics Methods, Socioeconomics, José Lobo is interested in determinants of metropolitan economic performance and location-specific economic growth; the application of machine learning, data mining and spatial statistics methods to the study of socioeconomic data; causes and consequences of urban size and scale; and how the characteristics of individuals, organizations, institutions and social networks interact to create "regions of innovation." Lobo has acted as visiting researcher at the Santa Fe Institute and Italy's Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia. Currently, he is on the faculty steering committee for ASU's Center for Social Dynamics and Complexity. Select Publications: Lobo, J. & Strumsky, D. (2008). Metropolitan patenting, inventor agglomeration and social networks: A tale of two effects. Journal of Urban Economics, 63(3), 871-884. Bettencourt, L., Lobo, J., Helbing, D., Kühnert, C. & West, G. (2007). Growth, innovation, scaling and the pace of life in cities. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104, 7301-7306. Auerswald, Phillip, Stuart Kauffman, José Lobo and Karl Shell (2000) “The Production Recipes Approach to Modeling Technological Innovation: An Application to Learning By Doing,” Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 24, 389-450.

Dragos Pislaru
Dragos Pislaru is the General Manager of GEA Strategy & Consulting, a private company founded in 2006, in an effort to provide support and expertise to public institutions and companies in Romania, in the attempt to build-up an economy and a society capable of meeting the European Standards. Dragos Pislaru was Executive Director of Group of Applied Economics between 2004-2007 and worked in 3 consecutive PHARE projects for the Romanian Government under the supervision of Dott. Giovanni Ravasio and Constantin Ciupagea between 2000-2005.

Philip Shapira
Philip Shapira is a Professor in the School of Public Policy at Georgia Institute of Technology and Professor of Management, Innovation and Policy with the Manchester Institute of Innovation Research, Manchester Business School, University of Manchester. Philip Shapira has a Ph.D., from University of California, Berkeley, City and Regional Planning a M.A. from University of California, Berkeley, Economics, and a M.C.P., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, City Planning. His interests encompass science and technology policy, economic and regional development, innovation management and policy, industrial competitiveness, technology trajectories and assessment, innovation measurement, and policy evaluation. Prof. Shapira is the author or co-author of more than 50 journal articles, 30 book chapters, numerous professional and policy studies, and several monographs and edited volumes. Recent publications include: "The role of national and regional-level innovation programs in stimulating international cooperation in innovation," (with A Fernandez-Ribas, Intl. J. Tech. Management, 2009); "Putting Innovation in Place: Evolution of Japanese Strategies for Industrial Services, Regional Clusters, and Manufacturing SMEs" (Prometheus, 2008); "Building an Innovation Hub: A Case Study of the Transformation of University Roles in Regional Technological and Economic Development" (with J Youtie, Research Policy, 2008). He is co-editor (with G Fuchs) of Rethinking Regional Innovation and Change: Path Dependency or Regional Breakthrough? (Springer, 2005). Prof. Shapira also is a co-editor (with R. Smits and S. Kuhlmann) of Innovation Policy: Theory and Practice. An International Handbook (Edward Elgar, 2010). At Georgia Tech, Prof. Shapira is a director of the Georgia Tech Program in Science, Technology and Innovation Policy and is TrendChart Senior Policy Analyst for innovation assessments of the US, China, Japan, Canada, Brazil, and India. Prof. Shapira served as expert member for the OECD.

Nicolae Victor Zamfir
Nicolae Victor Zamfir is the General Director of Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering starting from 2004. He was research professor at Wright Nuclear Structure Laboratory, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA between 1997-2004, psysicist at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York, USA between 1992-1997 and visiting scientist at University of Cologne, Germany between 1990-1992.

Participants

 * Dragos Apostu, Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding
 * Sorin Axinte, GLUE
 * Alexandru Borcea, ARIES
 * Irina Bujor, Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding
 * Andreea Elefteriu, Ring Business Development
 * Monica Florea, SIVECO Romania
 * Rosemari Fuica, Association for Promoting Electronic Technology
 * Dan Grosu, Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding
 * Christiana Leucuta, Ministry of Economy, Commerce and Business Environment
 * Iulia Maries, Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding
 * Carmen Beatrice Pauna, Institute for Economic Forecasting
 * Katja Pook, Pook Perspectives
 * Paul Svasta, Politehnica University of Bucharest
 * Vlad Tarko, Center for Institutional Analysis and Development
 * Manuela Unguru, Institute for World Economy
 * Marian Zulean, Executive Agency for Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation Funding

Rapporteur:
 * Campbell Warden, Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias