Per Assmo

Background 

During the 90’s, Prof Assmo worked as an SIDA expert in East Africa. After returning to Sweden, he received his PhD in Human & 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. Apart from academic work in Sweden, he also continued and expanded his research interests and networks on the African continent, especially South Africa. In year 2000, Prof Assmo initiated a long-standing education and research collaboration with Rhodes University. From 2015, he has developed a close educational and research collaboration with University of Western Cape (UWC) and is since 2017 appointed as Extraordinary Professor at UWC. The connections with South African universities have thereafter continued to expand, including formal collaborations with Central University of Technology (CUT), University of the Free state (UFS), and Tshwane University of Technology (TUT).

In short, he has more than 30 years’ experience of collaboration in development work, research, and university teaching on the African continent.

In Sweden, he was appointed as senior lecturer at Göteborg University in 1999, primarily teaching development geography and development studies. In 2005, he was offered a position at University West. Apart from teaching he developed and implemented an international multidisciplinary undergraduate programme – The International Programme for Politics & Economics – launched in 2006. Exploring a research interest in rural development he took on a position as part-time researcher and project coordinator at the Department for Management and Engineering at Linköping University during the period 2007-2015. In 2018 he was appointed professor in Human and Economic Geography at University West in 2018 and has in more recent years come to focus his research interest to the field of Work-integrated Learning (WIL). He has also developed and implemented an international transdisciplinary master’s programme at University West named Work-integrated Political Studies, launched in 2020. As from 2024, Prof Assmo is appointed as Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Internationalisation at University West.

Research interests
Prof Assmo has a profound engagement and research interest focusing on the African continent, as well as in Sweden. His research interests have over the years come to include areas such as: Rural/Social Sustainable Development, Creative Industries, Migration/Integration/Segregation, Internationalisation and Co-Creation of Knowledge in Higher Education, and WIL. In many of these research areas Prof Assmo has explored and developed the concept of time-spatial approaches.

Education/Supervision

Prof Assmo has more than 30 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 Studies, and WIL, with topics such as; Regional Geography (Africa), Demography & Migration, Global Production & Trade, International Political Economy, Rural Development, Local Sustainable Development, Tourism Geography, Development in Theory & Practice, Political Ecology, Theory & Methodology, Time Geography, European Politics, and Work-integrated Learning (WIL).

He has over the years also gained extensive national and international experience as Supervisor at Honours/Master/PhD level, including institutions such as: University West, Linköping University, Göteborg University, Rhodes University, and University of the Western Cape.

Current positions include:

• Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Internationalisation at University West, Sweden
• Full Professor at University West, Sweden
• Extraordinary Professor at University of the Western Cape (UWC), South Africa
• University West coordinator for SANORD (Southern Africa Nordic Centre)
• University West coordinator for SASUF (South Africa Sweden Research Forum)

On-going R&D projects

• Research Team Leader for the Complete Academic Environment of WIL at University West
• Research Project Leader for: Sustainability, Innovation and Resilience in Rural areas (SIRR), funded by EU Interreg North Sea program
• Project Leader & Coordinator for SASUF) and SANORD
• Research Project Leader for: International Development of Work Integrated Learning (WIL) - A Collaboration between University West & University of the Western Cape, funded by STINT
• Editor in chief for the newly established international research journal: Current Issues in Work-Integrated Learning – CIWIL.

Key Words

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

Publications (selection since 2010)

• 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. (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) 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. et al. (2020). Sektorsövergripande kartläggning för att minska och motverka segregation i Trollhättan Stad. Rapporter i korthet. Högskolan Väst, Mångfaldcentrum.
• Assmo, P. Sunnemark, F. & Westin-Lundqvist, W. (2020). Låga skolresultat i socialt utsatta områden. Faktorer, utmaningar och lösningar – En fallstudie i Trollhättans stad. Rapporter i korthet. Högskolan Väst, Mångfaldcentrum.
• Assmo, P. Sunnemark, F., Karlsson, E., & Westin-Lundqvist, W. (2020). Kompetensutveckling för kunskapsförsörjning inom skolan. En fallstudie i Uddevalla och Sotenäs kommuner. Rapporter i korthet. Högskolan Väst, Mångfaldcentrum.
• Assmo, P., Sunnemark, F. & L. Sunnemark (2021) Segregationen i Trollhättan: en lägesrapport. Rapporter i korthet. Högskolan Väst, Mångfaldcentrum.
• Sunnemark, F., Assmo, P., Lundqvist-Westin, W., & Al Saad, T. (2023) Exploring barriers and facilitators to knowledge transfer and learning processes through a cross-departmental collaborative project in a municipal organization. The Learning Organization. ISSN: 0969-6474.15 June 2023
• Sunnemark, F., Karlsson, E., Rudström, H., Gahnström, E. & Assmo, P. (2023) Social sustainability for whom? Developing an analytical approach through a tripartite collaboration. Journal of Workplace Learning. ISSN: 1366-5626. 26 July 2023
• Piper, L., Sunnemark, F., Assmo, P. & Dahlqvist, K. (2023) Rethinking WIL for an Academic Discipline: The model of Work Integrated Political Studies (WIPS). Cogent Education. Volume 10, 2023 - Issue 1.
• Piper, L., Sunnemark, L., Sunnemark, F., Assmo, P., Gahnström, E. & Dahlqvist, K. (2023) Bridging Theory and Practice through Work-Integrated Learning (WIL): Critical Perspectives on The Conceptualisations of WIL at a University in Sweden. Critical Studies in Education.
• Lundh Snis, U., Carlsson, L., Assmo, P. & Jacobs, H. (Editors) (2024) Abstract Book WIL Conference 2024: 2nd International Conference on Work-Integrated Learning WIL24: 3-5 April 2024. University West.
• Sunnemark, F., Assmo, P. & Jacobs, H. (xxxx) Co-Creating Work Integrated Learning Approaches Through International Partnership. Collaborative Education & Research for Societal Development. Studies in Continuing Education. (Submitted)