Maria Elo, from the University of Southern Denmark, served as a guest lecturer at our institute at the end of November as part of the ongoing Winter Semester 2023/24 International Seminar in Economic Geography (ISEG). For the seminar, she chose the title "Understanding global migration, diasporas, and business." These topics are not only historically relevant for individuals, regions, and economic activities but are also of great political, economic, and economic-geographic significance due to the current poly-crisis. This perspective was shared by the master's students from our institute and other faculties who participated in the five-day event, as evidenced by the impressive results of the teaching evaluation.
Maria Elo introduced various theories and vividly illustrated complex connections between global migration and diaspora effects using photos, videos, and maps in the daily seminar sessions of ISEG, working directly with the students. On Tuesday evening, the students had a joint dinner with Maria Elo. In a nearby restaurant and a relaxed atmosphere, the students had the opportunity to get to know a globally renowned scholar in the field of "diaspora entrepreneurship" outside of ISEG over burgers, salads, beer, and wine.
We express our gratitude to all the students who contributed to an interactive seminar with their exciting insights. We also extend our thanks to Maria Elo for her interesting lectures and insights into her work, especially considering that she stepped in relatively last minute for the originally scheduled guest for this ISEG.