IN CONVERSATION | JUDITH SUTZ with SMITA SRINIVAS

About the Event 

The IN CONVERSATION series portrays prominent innovation scholars of the day in the form of intellectual-biographical interviews with other senior scholars.

In the FOURTH event JUDITH SUTZ will be interviewed by SMITA SRINIVAS (on 25 APRIL, 2022). The event will be anchored by VERONICA ROBERT

Structure of the program (2 hours split up as follows)

Brief intro to the program and introducing Smita Srinivas (by anchor Veronica Robert) 5 minutes

i. Introductory remarks by Smita and Judith Sutz is introduced (10 minutes) followed by a conversation between them as follows

ii. Formative years and major influences - (10 minutes)

iii. Contributions, Critique and weakness, Current work & future course - (35 minutes): starting from the important contributions of Judith, evolving towards a critical evaluation of her work. Then moving on to discussions on what next given the changing circumstances, how the theoretical contributions are relevant in current circumstances etc. It is a platform to convey what they want future generations to take from Judith and how they can further develop standing on the strong base that was created.

iv. Comment on Status of Innovation Economics and what next? - (10 minutes)

Some of the possible questions could be the following. However the speakers can shape it the way they want it to be!  

• How did you end up doing research on innovation?
• What were your most important contributions to the field?
• To what degree have you engaged in teamwork and collective research?
• How do you see the relationship between economics and innovation studies?
• How do you see the role of innovation policy and innovation politics in development strategies?
• How do you see the future for innovation studies?
• At what level should we study innovation – micro, meso and macro?
• What kind of methods should we use to study innovation and economic development?
• What kind of advice would you like to give to young innovation scholars?
• What role can innovation play in meeting global challenges?

B  R E A K - 5 MINUTES

v. Discussion (1 hour): For the 1 hour discussion a panel of scholars [CARLOTA PEREZ, JORGE KATZ & ANDREW ROBERTS CUMMINGS] will ask questions or make comments on Judith's work. After Judith's response to them the forum will be open for questions from the general audience.

Brief Biodata of the speakers

JUDITH SUTZ is a researcher in the field of Science, Technology, Society and Development. She has specialized in the study of development and underdevelopment based on the interrelations between science, technology and society. He also researches on the problems associated with the production and social use of knowledge, promoting interdisciplinarity in the field of Social Sciences. She had made a very significant contribution to understanding the innovation process in the South. Her theoretical and empirical research elaborates on the concept of "university for development” and "learning divide”. Her proposal to think of "innovation policies as social policies" constitute one of her main contributions that point at integrating the international literature on innovation and development. In 1977, she graduated as an Electrical Engineer from the Universidad Central de Venezuela when she was in exile. She continued studying at the same University, graduating with a master's degree in Development Planning, with a mention in Science and Technology. In 1984, she defended her doctoral thesis "Informatique et Societé: quelques réflexions à partir du Tiers Monde", a third cycle doctorate in "Socio-Economics of Development: Mention in Economics", at the Sorbonne University. She is a researcher at the Universidad de la República. Since 1992 she has been Coordinator of the Academic Unit of the Sectorial Commission for Scientific Research.  She is part of the National Research System and member of the National Academy of Sciences of Uruguay. She has participated in the Organization of Iberoamerican States as an expert/consultant and in the Iberoamerican Network of Science and Technology Indicators. She has also been a member of the World Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Editorial Boards of the Revista Iberoamericana de Ciencia, Tecnología y Sociedad and Research Policy.

SMITA SRINIVAS conducts research and advises on micro-level and policy aspects of economic development, industrial strategy, firm-level priorities, technological innovation, and industrial policy. Her research is both theoretical and practical. She is the 2021 AFEE Clarence E. Ayres Scholar (institutional economics) and 2015 EAEPE Joan Robinson Prize awardee (former Myrdal Prize, evolutionary economics/political economy) for her book "Market Menagerie: Health and Development in Late Industrial States" (Stanford University Press, Economics & Finance 2012). In the recent past, Smita has been India Lead on cancer and industry research at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS-TIFR) India, Co-Chair in Global Health and Covid-19 of the T20 Italy21 inputs for the G20, served several health and industrial advisory roles in 2020-'22 from firms to UN, to government committees, served Karnataka’s government in diverse technical capacities, and was invited to numerous international panels on industrial diversification and policy design. She co-organised the ‘Future of Economics’ workshop. 

Prof. Srinivas has been Professorial Research Fellow and Visiting Professor (Economics and Development) at The Open University UK, with full-time, Honorary, Fellow and Visiting senior appointments at University College London (STEaPP), the London School of Economics and Political Science, Columbia University, Harvard University, IISc, NCBS-TIFR, and several think-tanks. She has served as Co-Chair or Scientist and Expert Committee member on micro-level climate, health, and economic goals for numerous multidisciplinary global efforts. She has advised or examined a large number of M.S. and Ph.D students (US, India, Europe) on economics and institutional analysis in plans and policies. She founded the Technological Change Lab (TCLab,) originally at Columbia University and now independent, with a 3-way focus on Economic theory, Policy design, and Realistic development plans. Her MIT Ph.D in economic development and technology planning, draws on prior training in economics, physics, and mathematics."