Jouke van Dijk elected President of the European Regional Science Association (ERSA)

During its 53rd annual congress in Palermo, Italy, the European Regional Science Association (ERSA) elected Prof. Jouke van Dijk President for a period of five years.

Jouke van Dijk (1956) is professor of Regional Labour Market Analysis at the Faculty of Spatial Sciences of the University of Groningen and Chair/Director of the KNAW Wadden Academy. ERSA is an international organization with about 3500 members from 17 European ‘sections’ organized by language or geographical location. All members are researchers or policymakers working at universities, research institutes and government bodies in the fields of economic geography, spatial economics and regional policy and development.

ERSA aims to promote Regional Science as an academic field of study, for example by organizing an annual European Congress for about 1000 participants and an annual Summer School for young academics from all over Europe. In addition, smaller themed workshops are organized at various locations throughout Europe where science and policy meet.

ERSA is managed by the President and the ERSA Council, in which all 17 sections are represented. They are assisted by the European Organising Committee and the ERSA Office in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.