Template-type: ReDif-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Akçomak, Semih
Author-workplace-name: UNU-MERIT
Author-Name:  Garcia, Abraham 
Author-workplace-name: UNU-MERIT
Author-Name: Santiago-Rodriguez, Fernando
Author-workplace-name: UNU-MERIT
Title: UNU-MERIT at 25 years: How doctoral training at UNU-MERIT contributes to the community of
	 scholars in the economis of innovation?
Abstract: This paper contributes to literature on the emergence of innovation studies as a
	 scientific field. This area of research documents the mechanisms, interactions and
	 meeting spaces that innovation scholars have developed to give substance and legitimacy
	 to their work. What role is there for the training of young scholars in the development
	 of this scientific field? Based on a web survey of UNU-MERIT's PhD alumni, we explore
	 the ways in which doctoral training at a major research institute has contributed to the
	 formation of young scholars in the broad field of innovation studies. In line with
	 literature on the creation of science and technology human capital, we find that
	 doctoral training grants PhD holders the technical knowledge and skills, together with
	 the relational skills that sustain their membership and scholarly contributions to
	 innovation studies. The evidence likewise suggests that the contribution of UNU-MERIT's
	 PhD programme on the building of innovation research capacities in developing countries
	 is constrained by postgraduate decisions to stay in the developed world. Young scholars
	 follow a career development strategy of linking to mentors and key senior researchers,
	 while scientific interactions with fellow students are more limited. Social interactions
	 tend to be more prominent for maintaining relations with the research community. 
Keywords: UNU-MERIT, Research institutes, innovation studies, doctoral training, social capital
Classification-JEL: D85; I23; O30
Series: UNU-MERIT Working Papers
Creation-Date: 2015
Number: 2015-036
File-URL: https://unu-merit.nl/publications/wppdf/2015/wp2015-036.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 275 kb
Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2015036