Per Assmo

BACKGROUND AND RESEARCH INTERESTS

During the 90’s, I conducted field research and did development work as an SIDA expert in East Africa. After returning to Sweden I received my PhD in Human and Economic Geography at Göteborg University in 1999 with a thesis entitled; Livelihood Strategies and Land Degradation - Perceptions among Small-Scale Farmers in Ng'iresi Village, Tanzania. My networks and research interest in Africa, and particularly South Africa, has continued and expanded over the years. Already in year 2000, I started a collaboration with the Geography Department at Rhodes University. I am since 2009 appointed as Visiting professor to Rhodes University. In more recent years I have also initiated a close educational and research collaboration with the Department for Political Studies at University of Western Cape (UWC), and I am since 2017 appointed as Extraordinary Associate Professor to University of Western Cape.

Apart from my collaboration with South African universities, I have also been attached part-time as researcher and co-ordinator at the Department for Management and Engineering at Linköping University during the period 2007-2015. However, I have, since my employment started in 2001, always kept my base and main educational and research activities at University West. In 2009 I was appointed Associate Professor, and in 2018 I became professor in human and Economic Geography at University West.  

I have a profound engagement and research interest focusing on the African continent, as well as in Sweden. I started in the 90’s focusing on rural sustainable development in Africa, which later also became a field of interest in a Swedish context. My research interests have over the years come to include also other areas such as; Sustainable Development, Creative Industries, Migration and Integration, Internationalisation of Higher Education, and Work Integrated Learning. In many of these research areas I have explored the concept of time-spatial approaches, largely developing the concept of Time-Geography initially founded by Torsten Hägerstrand.

EDUCATION/SUPERVISION

I have more than 20 years of national and international teaching experience at undergraduate as well as post-graduate level, giving lectures and courses in; Sweden, South Africa, Switzerland, UK, Ireland, Australia, USA, Norway, Denmark, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. Fields of teaching includes primarily the subjects of Human & Economic Geography, Political Science, and Social Science with topics such as; Regional Geography (Africa), Demography & Migration, Global Production & Trade, International Political Economy, Rural Development, Local Economic Development (LED), Tourism Geography, Development in Theory & Practice, Political Ecology, Theory & Methodology, Time Geography, European Politics, and Work Integrated Learning (WIL)

I have over the years also gained extensive experience as Supervisor to Honours/Master/PhD projects at Institutions in Sweden (University West, Linköping University, Göteborg University), and South Africa (Rhodes University, University of the Western Cape - UWC). I have also been examiner committee member for PhD Degrees at various universities.

I have developed and implemented a number of new university programmes, in Sweden and South Africa. I currently hold positions as;

• Programme Director for the International Programme for Politics & Economics (IPPE), University West
• Programme Director for the Master Programme in International Politics, University West
• Extraordinary Associate Professor, Department of Political Studies, UWC,
• Visiting Professor, Geography Department, Rhodes University, South Africa
• Member of the Research Council for Work Integrated Learning (LINA) at University West
• Member of the Research Editorial Committee – Uddevalla Symposium Rhodes University
• University West co-ordinator for SANORD (Southern Africa Nordic Centre)
• Member of the steering committee for SASUF (South Africa Sweden Research Forum)
• External Expert/Evaluator - Swedish Council for Higher Education

KEY WORDS

Time-geography, Rural Development, Sustainable Development, Internationalisation, Development Theory, Integration, Migration, Political-Economy, Work Integrated Learning.

PUBLICATIONS (SELECTION)

Assmo, P. (2005) Creative Clusters - Ideas and Realities for Cluster Growth. The Example of Film i Väst in the Region of Västra Götaland, Sweden. In Karlsson, Johansson & Stough:  Industrial Clusters and Inter-Firm Networks. New Horizons in Regional Science. Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham

Assmo, P. & Wihlborg, E. (2007) Beyond the Economic Meanings of Development - A Discussion of Political-Geographical Constructions of Societal Development. In University West Research Report 2007:04. Institutions for Knowledge Generation & Knowledge Flows – Building Innovative Capabilities for Regions. Grafikerna Livrena AB. Kungälv, Sweden

Fox, R. & Assmo, P. and H. Kjellgren (2008) Role Playing African Development: an international comparison. The Journal of Independent Teaching and Learning. Volume 3. 2008.

Assmo, P. (2010) Creative Industries and Regional Economic Development – The Example of Public Supported Regional Film Centres in Sweden. In Karlsson, Johansson & Stough: Entrepreneurship and Regional Development. Local Processes and Global Patterns. New Horizons in Regional Science. Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, UK.

Assmo, P. & Wihlborg, E. (2010) Home: The Arena for Sustainable Development – A conceptual discussion.The International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability, Volume 6, Issue 1, pp.319-332. Common Ground Publishing.

Assmo, P. & Wihlborg, E. (2011) Ydre 2.0 – An alternative Approach towards Post-Monetarism. In: University West Research Report 2011:01. (Ed I. Bernhard) Innovation and Multidimensional Entrepreneurship – Economic, Social and Academic Aspects. Litorapid Media. Göteborg, Sweden. 

Assmo, P. & Wihlborg, E. (2011) A time Spatial approach towards Integrated Sustainable Development. In: University West Research Report 2011:05. (Ed I. Bernhard) Entrepreneurial Knowledge, Technology and Transformations of Regions. Ale Tryckteam AB, Bohus, Sweden.

Assmo, P. & Wihlborg, E. (2012) An Alternative View of Integrated Sustainable Development Through a Time-Spatial Lens. In: OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development, Vol. 03, No. 12, pp. 87-96, 2012.

Assmo, P. & Wihlborg, E. (2012) Public Services Choices When There Are No Alternatives? – A Paradox of New Public Management in Rural Areas. Journal of Rural and Community Development. Vol 7, no 2, p. 1-17.

Assmo, P. & Wihlborg, E. (2012) Local alternative development through a time-spatial lens: a case study of Ydre inspired by Hägerstrand. In: Entrepreneurship, Social Capital and Governance. - Directions for the Sustainable Development and Competitiveness of Regions. Johansson, B. Karlsson, C. & Stough, R. R. (eds.), London: Edward Elgar Publications.

Assmo, P. & Wihlborg, E. (2014) En annan kommunal ekonomi. Om andra sätt att värdera lokala resurser och aktiviteter. Bilder från Ydre kommun. LIU Tryck. Linköping, Sweden.

Assmo, P. & Wihlborg, E. (2014)Home: An Alternative Time-Spatial Concept for Sustainable Development. In; Transitions to Sustainability: Theoretical Debates for a Changing Planet. D. Humphreys & S. Stober (eds.) London: Common Grounds publishing.

Assmo, P. & Fox, R. (2015) International collaboration for pedagogical innovation: Understanding multi-racial interaction through a time-geographic appraisal. (pp 207-227). In; Knowledge for a sustainable World – A southern African-Nordic contribution. Ed Halvorsen T, Ibsen H, & M’kumbuzi R. SANORD & African Minds, Cape Town.

Assmo, P. (2015)A Time-geographic Appraisal for Local Sustainable Development.The International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability. Annual Review, Volume 10, 2014. pp. 15-26. Common Ground Publishing.

Assmo, P. & Wihlborg, E. (2016) Political Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Growth in Rural Areas. In; Political Entrepreneurship - Regional Growth and Entrepreneurial Diversity in Sweden. Eds., Karlsson, Silander & Silander. Cheltenham UK: Edward Elgar Publications.

Assmo, P., T. Winman & M. Westerlind (2018) Slutrapport: Hälsofrämjande integration och jämlik folkhälsa i Uddevalla - Ett forsknings- och utvecklingsprojekt i samarbete med Högskolan Väst och Uddevalla kommun. Högskolan Väst

Assmo, P. & Winman, T. (Forthcoming) Work Integrated Learning through an R&D Project. A Case Study of Student´s participation in a Health Promoting Integration Project at University West.

Assmo, P. (Forthcoming)A Time-Spatial Approach to Analyse Migrants’ Micro-Migration and Settlement Patterns. 

Read more about my research on our Swedish website.