IV Paper Development Workshop

The Urban and Regional Economics Working Group welcomes abstracts and full papers from Young Scholars to its activities during the RSA KIRDSA “IV International Conference on Regional Development in South America”, to be held at the Universidad de Chile (Santiago de Chile, Chile), from March 3th to 5th 2027. This will mark the fourth collaboration with RSA – KIRDSA Network (Regional Studies Association Research Network “Knowledge, Innovation and Regional Development in South America”), following the successful engagement during their conference in Montevideo (Uruguay), Campinas (Brazil), and Buenos Aires (Argentina). KIRDSA Conference “aims to bring together researchers studying the creation and dissemination of knowledge in the South American context and development processes with a territorial approach in the region’s countries”. More information on KIRDSA can be found on their homepage https://www.regionalstudies.org/network/knowledge-innovation-and-regional-development-in-south-america/

If you would like to be considered for YSI partial funding, an additional application is necessary through this project page after you have submitted your abstract to the KIRDSA Conference. Applications are open, and the selection process is based on motivation, the need for funding, and the academic-scientific alignment between the proposal and the event.

Workshop Structure:

Online activities (before the conference):

Online Seminar (open to the YSI community):

• Workshop on tools and ethics relating to artificial intelligence applied to research, for Young Scholars

Activities during the conference:

• Young Scholars Special Sessions: Throughout the KIRDSA Conference, we will host the “Young Scholars Special Sessions” where participants will present their research to a broader audience. During these sessions, mentors will provide targeted feedback connected to the content of the initial workshop. This continuity ensures that the advice given during the workshop is reinforced and applied in the context of actual presentations. This can be complemented by feedback from peers, which can enhance the papers from a different perspective.

We welcome contributions from Master Students, PhD Students and Early Career that are related, but not exclusively, to the following topics:

• Innovation and development in territories specializing in extractive industries.
• Interaction and collaboration networks in innovation processes of Latin America
• Relatedness, productive specialization and technological diversification in Latin American regions
• Local development, clusters and industrial districts in the context of Latin American countries
• Environmental challenges and green transitions in Latin American regions
• Migration, brain drain and brain circulation in Latin America
• Cities as poles of development, innovation and inequality in Latin America
• Global Value Chains, knowledge flows and diversification opportunities in Latin America cities.
• Gender gaps in science, technology and innovation.
• Geopolitics, geoeconomics, and regional development.
• Governance, decentralization, and regional development.

We are open to contributions with theoretical focus, methodological innovations and/ or with implications for the design of public policies for innovation and regional development in Latin American countries.

Abstracts: max 500 words.

Extended abstracts (optional): 2500 words. References, figures, and tables are not included in the word count.

Full papers (optional): max 8000 words.

The workshop and the conference are free of charge, ensuring accessibility for all selected young scholars. All participants are encouraged to attend the entire conference. Participants based in South America are eligible for partial travel support, subject to availability and approval by YSI. International participants are welcome to apply. If you have the option of receiving support from your university, kindly consider this as your primary funding source, thus allowing colleagues without this opportunity to benefit from YSI funding. Please note that accommodation costs should be covered individually by each participant.

Objectives:

• To provide early-career researchers with the competencies and expertise required to strengthen the quality of their research papers, with particular emphasis on the evolving role of Artificial Intelligence in research.
• To cultivate a collaborative and academically rigorous environment that supports young researchers engaged in regional development studies across South America.
• To encourage meaningful engagement between emerging scholars and experienced academics, facilitating knowledge exchange, mentorship, and professional development.

Expected Outcomes:

• Improved quality of research papers presented by young scholars at the conference.
• Enhanced presentation skills and academic writing capabilities among participants.
• Strengthened network and collaboration opportunities within the South American research community.

Overview and Steps for interested Young Scholars:

Step 1:

Submit your abstract to the IV International Conference on Regional Development in South America and apply to the Young Scholar Session via the conference form https://forms.gle/ego7J2R25H5cFg5s8. The deadline is October 30th.

Step 2:

Apply here to the YSI Session and funding (subject to approval). You can apply before knowing the outcome of Step 1. However, only those who are officially accepted by KIRDSA as participants in the Young Scholar Session will later be considered for YSI funding.

Important Dates

• September 22th: Submission for abstracts (and papers) start
• October 30th: Submission for abstracts (and papers) end
• November 23th: Notification of acceptance and availability of funding
• December 2nd. week (date to confirm): Online Seminar