We are pleased to announce the winners for the 2019 RSA Student and Early Career Awards. The Regional Studies Association Awards Committee have determined that all the winners have made an original and outstanding contribution to the field of regional studies. The Awards Ceremony will take place at the President’s Event to be held din London on 14th November 2019. Click here to see our Flickr photos from the 2018 President’s Event.
Nathaniel Lichfield Award: Clara Lea Dallaire-Fortier, Institute of Political Ecology, Croatia
Clara’s dissertation explores the impacts of the Emerald Coal Mine closure in Pennsylvania. It includes an investigation of the nature of de-industrialisation at the macro level and aims to disentangling meso-level effects across the mining industry and linked sectors. It explores the micro-level outcomes of the labour market from both an individual worker and the broader community perspective. Her original contribution combines a political economy approach with insights from sociology and regional studies, exploring coping and resilience both within the community and within the region. Clara’s dissertation also examined how the economic and environmental debates around coal connect with national and global political shifts.
Many thanks to the Review Committee and the Association for this award. I feel privileged to be part of a stimulating network that support research that goes beyond the university wall and the academic disciplines.”
RSA PhD Student Award: Huiwen Gong, Kiel University, Germany
Huiwen’s work focuses on the evolution of the video game industries in Hamburg and Shanghai. The Committee determined that it contributed much to the understanding of local industrial development, innovativeness and creativity in an internationally comparative perspective, with Huiwen not only contributing to theoretical discussions in economic geography and regional studies, but also including clear policy implications for the promotion of creative industries in cities and regions.
I am honoured to be this year’s recipient of the PhD Student Award of the RSA, whose work has contributed enormously to a stronger community in regional development studies.”
RSA Routledge Early Career Award: Kean Fan Lim, Newcastle University, UK
Kean’s research on state rescaling, policy experimentation and path dependency in China has contributed to ongoing debates within regional studies, and delineated the constituent roles of regional scales in economic development for a broader social science audience. His two-pronged approach continues to underpin his ongoing research projects on the EU-China transcontinental railway, RMB internationalisation and global city (re)formations in East Asia.
To receive this award is an absolute honour and an encouragement to work harder to advance debates in regional studies. Thank You, RSA.”