Centre for Studies in Science Policy
School of Social Sciences, JNU
Cordially invites you to
CSSP Lecture Series Talk on
Universities in Regional Futures: A Comparative Study of Oil Specialised Regions
by Muzamil Farooq
(Marie Skłodowska-Curie PhD Research Fellow, Innovation and Regional Studies, Centre for Innovation Research, UiS School of Business and Law, University of Stavanger, Norway)
Venue: Room No. 227, 2nd Floor, SSS-1, JNU
Time: 2:30 pm
Date: Friday, 26th September 2025
Mode: Physical
Abstract: Universities are increasingly expected to move beyond knowledge production to act as institutional agents in regional sustainability transitions. This study examines how universities in oil-specialised regions Rogaland, Norway (University of Stavanger) and Aberdeenshire, Scotland (University of Aberdeen) adapt their organizational structures and collaborations as their host regions transition from oil dependency to low-carbon futures. Using a comparative case study approach, the project highlights how different governance traditions, industrial legacies, and institutional contexts shape universities’ capacity to drive change. The study also addresses directionality and the politics of transition, showing how universities navigate contested imaginaries of regional futures persistence, adaptation, or transformation. By integrating perspectives from economic geography and sustainability transitions, the research contributes to debates on the transformative university and provides lessons for other carbon-intensive regions confronting just and sustainable transition.
About the Speaker: Muzamil Farooq is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) PhD Research Fellow in Innovation and Regional Studies at the Centre for Innovation Research, UiS School of Business and Law, University of Stavanger, Norway. As part of the European SUNSET Doctoral Network, situated within the scholarship of the geography of sustainability transitions, Muzamil's research investigates the role of universities in regional sustainability transitions with a focus on specialized industrial regions. His past research including his master's dissertation at the SPRU-Science Policy Research Unit explored the critical synergies between transition studies and mission-oriented innovation policy. Muzamil holds an MSc in Science and Technology Policy from the Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex, funded by the Commonwealth Masters Scholarship from FCDO, Govt of United Kingdom. He also earned an MSc in Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurial Dynamics from the National Institute of Technology, Srinagar, and completed his undergraduate studies in Mechanical Engineering at Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Technical University, Punjab.
All are welcome to attend the lecture.