Field Course South Tyrol 2026
Over the past few decades, the province of South Tyrol in Italy has developed from a service location into an important hub for innovation and research. In the future, the new innovation strategy (2021-2027) will promote specialisation in the areas of “Automation and Digital”, “Food and Life Science”, “Alpine Technologies” and “Green Technologies”. During this excursion, we will take a closer look at South Tyrol's development from an economic geography perspective.
The aim is to understand how and under what conditions this once peripheral service location was able to develop into a centre for innovation and research. While the city of Bolzano has established itself as a central location for research and innovation, peripheral regions have developed their own strategies and solutions to meet the current challenges facing mountain areas (e.g. demographic change, migration dynamics).
We critically examine the effects resulting from the development of new economic paths and how the relationship between the centre and the periphery is being renegotiated. In addition to classic growth-oriented perspectives, we highlight alternative economic practices to illustrate the complexity of the economic geographies of mountain areas.
The field course will take place from 22 June to 1 July 2026. For further information, please attend the information event on 30 October or contact us by email at ellena.brandner@unibe.ch.
