“Welcome Aboard!”“Economic geography is often topical and takes a lot of current developments into consideration.”Prof. Dr. Jana Kleibert strengthens the Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability (CEN).

5 October 2022, by Kleibert/Newsroom

Photo: Douglas Costa

Prof. Dr. Jana Kleibert

Every year, numerous new researchers join Universität Hamburg. This series introduces them and their areas of research. This time, we introduce Prof. Dr. Jana Kleibert.

Prof. Dr. Jana Kleibert has been a professor of economic and social geography, with a focus on urban research, in the Department of Earth System Sciences at the Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Natural Sciences as well as at the Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability (CEN) since September 2022.

My research area in 3 sentences:

I research different aspects of globalization such as global supply chains or transnational companies and organizations in the knowledge economy. Currently, I am heading a research project that takes an economic and urban geography approach to the international location choice of universities and the emergence of so-called “education hubs” in large cities. We look at how university branch locations are embedded in transnational flows of students, teachers, knowledge, and capital and at their role in urban and national development strategies.

I explain what I do to my friends and family as follows:

Mostly, I provide examples of my concrete research: Why does the University of Nottingham have a foreign campus in Malaysia and China in which even individual buildings have been reconstructed? What does the University of Lancaster now have a new campus in Leipzig? Everyone begins immediately to think about it and are then eager to learn about my field research findings.

In Hamburg, the city and the University, I am looking forward to:

Hamburg is a pleasantly green big city with the port and the University acting as gateways to the world. This means a lot of new possibilities for further globalization and urban research. I am also looking forward to exchange with students and the cooperation with my new colleagues at the Institute of Geography.

This is why students should come to my lectures:

Economic geography is often very topical and it takes current developments, whether Brexit or Bitcoins, into consideration. Together, we take a critical look at everyday economic processes and connections and gain a more nuanced view of the world. I am starting off with a big trip to Amsterdam. That will definitely be an adventure and educational experience!

Reaching out to the world: I work with the following international and federal institutions and universities:

I don’t only research the internationalization of universities; as an academic, I am also, of course, part of the international research community. I did my doctorate at the University of Amsterdam and I was a visiting scholar at the Universities of Manchester, Vancouver, and Singapore. Currently, I am working with researchers from Great Britain, Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany.

My research is important for society because: 

Globalization research is currently becoming relevant again due to global challenges such as climate change, pandemics, and war. The question about the risks of global networking and economic dependencies has now become drastic. Are we facing the end of globalization? My research critically probes the internationalization and marketing of higher education, which is an essential part of the knowledge economy.