Portulans Institute has welcomed its first cohort of GII Academic Network Fellows. Our Fellows are academics and professionals from our GII Academic Network member institutions, who work on novel research related to innovation and innovation policies. Through their work they develop cross-community knowledge and dialogue on how people, technology, and innovation contribute to sustainable and inclusive growth.
Meet our 2023 Academic Network Fellows!
Courtney Bower – Cornell University
Research area(s): The hydrogen economy, regional innovation systems, economic impact analysis
Courtney Bower is a Ph.D. student in Regional Science at Cornell University. His dissertation research focuses on the economic impacts of transitions to circular and hydrogen economies from a regional innovation systems perspective. He has published on pre-war transitions in the Donbas, Ukraine, and presented on bibliometrics in planning scholar knowledge networks. He is a member of the Just Places Lab housed in Cornell’s Department of City and Regional Planning, where he works to advance sustainable building deconstruction throughout New York State. While completing his Master in Regional Planning at Cornell University, he received the Arch R. Winter Graduate Fellowship for 2020, worked for the United Nations Office of Disaster Risk Reduction, and was awarded a full-tuition scholarship to Harvard University’s Ukrainian Research Institute summer program. Prior to attending Cornell University, he completed a tour of service as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in western Ukraine.
Cláudia Souza Passador – University of São Paulo
Research area(s): Public policies and sustainability, innovation ecosystems in the Amazon
Dr. Cláudia Souza Passador is a graduate and post-graduate professor at the Faculty of Economics, Administration and Accounting of Ribeirão Preto, at the University of São Paulo. She currently studies Public Policies in Brazil. She has received a Senior Research Award in Development from The Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA), a Senior Research Award in Public Management from (ENAP) Senior Researcher at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO/UN) and an award in Productivity Research from National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq). She previously served as Mayor of the Campus of USP Ribeirão Preto (2016-2020).
She is currently Coordinator of the Center for Studies in Public Policy and Contemporary Management in the Institute of Advanced Studies – University of São Paulo (GPUBLIC /IEA/IEA) and Vice-President of the Brazilian Society of Public Administration (SBAP). She received her Masters Degree in Government and Public Administration from Fundação Getúlio Vargas in 1998, and a Doctorate in Education from The University of São Paulo in 2003.
Ismaeel Tharwat – The American University in Cairo
Research area(s): Innovation, leadership, and economic development
Ismaeel Tharwat is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics at The American University in Cairo (AUC). He holds a PhD in Economics from Paris-Saclay University where his research focuses on innovation & technology policy; globalization; economic development; leadership; entrepreneurship & venture capital.
Tharwat has diverse multidisciplinary experience in economic development, governance, management, entrepreneurship & business strategy acquired through professional practice & academic research. Tharwat’s professional experiences include stints in government, startups & Fortune 500 companies. He is currently a Young Expert with the African Union – European Union Youth Cooperation Hub & the Curator of the Global Shapers Cairo Hub of the World Economic Forum.
Tharwat has a well-rounded academic background having earned 3 master’s degrees: a Master in Business Decision Engineering from EPF-Ecole d’Ingénieurs, a Master in Economics & Management of the Digital Economy & Network Industries from Paris-Saclay University and a Master in Economics with a specialization in Financial Economics from Ecole Polytechnique & HEC Paris.
About the Global Innovation Index: The Global Innovation Index (GII) is an annual ranking of countries by their capacity for, and success in, innovation, published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in collaboration with the Portulans Institute. Envisioned to capture as complete a picture of innovation as possible, the Index comprises around 80 indicators, including measures on the political environment, education, infrastructure and knowledge creation of each economy.
About the GII Academic Network: The GII Academic Network was established in 2019 to engage world-leading universities and their faculty and students in GII research and to support the dissemination of the GII results in the academic community. As of 2023, Portulans Institute proudly partners with 12 institutions located all over the world.
