1. Introduction
Following successful editions in Maastricht (the Netherlands), Beijing (China), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Tartu (Estonia), San Jose (Costa Rica), Cape Town (South Africa), Santiago (Chile), New Delhi (India), Moscow (Russia), Montevideo (Uruguay), Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) and Bogotá (Colombia) we plan to host the upcoming conference in Kerala, India. This conference will bring together leading scholars, policymakers, and industry experts to discuss the latest research on innovation and its impact on economic development. The event will foster dialogue on how innovation shapes firms, households, communities, and governments, while also addressing critical development concerns, including economic growth, welfare, poverty alleviation, environmental sustainability, and equitable wealth distribution. The conference specifically aims to attract policymakers to actively engage in dialogue with researchers, fostering an informed policy discourse.
The 2025 edition of the conference will focus on the theme “Innovation and New Technologies for Inclusive and Sustainable Development.” This theme reflects the growing importance of digital transformation, artificial intelligence, automation, and emerging technologies in shaping economic structures, labor markets, and industrial policies. The conference will explore how these new technologies can be harnessed to promote sustainable and inclusive economic growth in developing countries, while also addressing potential risks such as job displacement, inequality, and regulatory challenges. Themes will specifically focus on disentangling the complex relationship between technologies, employment, production, industrial policy, and their roles in shaping the future competitiveness of firms and economies, while ensuring environmental and social sustainability.
Examples of topics that could be covered:
- Innovation, emerging technologies and development
- Innovation, new technologies, and productivity
- Innovation, new technologies and social outcomes, such as education, health, human capital
- Innovation and emerging technologies in universities and public institutions
- Technology adoption and diffusion
- Innovation, new technologies and employment
- New technologies and entrepreneurship
- Innovation, new technologies and trade
- Governance of new technologies
- Non-technological innovation
- Innovation, new technologies and the service sector
- Data, new indicators and new methods for innovation
- Industrial Policy
- Effectiveness of innovation policies
Objectives
The key objectives of the conference are:
- To provide a platform for researchers worldwide to present cutting-edge work on innovation and development.
- To provide students from University of Kerala and across the State of Kerala with an opportunity to engage with international scholars and research on innovation and development.
- To facilitate knowledge exchange and interdisciplinary discussions among academia, industry, and policymakers, ensuring research findings translate into actionable policy recommendations.
Conference Format
The conference will include:
- Keynote Speeches: Talks by renowned academic scholars on the field.
- Paper Presentations: Priority given to empirical research, but theoretical and methodological contributions will also be welcomed.
- Policy Roundtable: Engagement with policymakers to discuss how research insights can inform policy decisions in emerging economies.
Expected Participants
We anticipate participation from a diverse group of stakeholders, including academics and researchers from international institutions, representatives from government agencies and international organizations, industry leaders and technology innovators, development practitioners, and civil society organizations. Additionally, graduate students and early-career researchers specializing in innovation studies will have the opportunity to engage with experts and present their research.
Expected Outcomes
The conference aims to generate multiple valuable outcomes. A compendium of selected papers can be published as conference proceedings. Policy briefs summarizing key takeaways for decision-makers will be produced to ensure actionable insights reach relevant authorities. Furthermore, the event will strengthen research and institutional collaborations between the United Nations University and partner institutions in Asia and beyond. Lastly, the conference will facilitate greater engagement between academia and policymakers, bridging research and practice in innovation-led development.
Submission
Researchers are invited to submit their paper or an extended abstract by July 30, 2025. Preference will be given to full papers, quantitative studies, empirical papers and papers dealing with this year’s special topics. But there is also room for methodological and theoretical papers as well as for case studies, as long as they address the issue of innovation and development. Please submit by clicking on “submit your paper” on the website https://application.unu-merit.nl/meide/submission.php. Notifications of acceptance will be given around August 30, 2025. For those participants who need an official letter of invitation from the Kerala University to apply for a visa to enter the country, there will be a special box to click when submitting the paper.
Sponsors
UNU-MERIT, United Nations University, Maastricht, Netherlands
UNU-CRIS, United Nations University, Bruges, Belgium
Inter University Centre for Alternative Economics, Department of Economics, University of Kerala, Trivandrum, Kerala, India
Kerala Start-up Mission
Scientific Committee
Tommaso Ciarli (UNU-MERIT)
Alex Coad (Waseda Business School)
Robin Cowan (UNU-MERIT)
Micheline Goedhuys (UNU-MERIT)
Nanditha Mathew (UNU-CRIS)
Neil Foster-McGregor (ADB)
Pierre Mohnen (UNU-MERIT)
Daniele Moschella (Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies)
Carlo Pietrobelli (UNU-MERIT)
Emanuele Pugliese (UNU-MERIT)
Tania Treibich (Maastricht University)
Bart Verspagen (UNU-MERIT)
Fabiana Visentin (UNU-MERIT)
Lili Wang (UNU-MERIT)
Organising Committee
Tommaso Ciarli (UNU-MERIT)
Nanditha Mathew (UNU-CRIS)
Emanuele Pugliese (UNU-MERIT)
Pierre Mohnen (UNU-MERIT)
Sneha Marydas (UNU-MERIT)
Siddik Rabiyath (University of Kerala)
Local Organising Committee
Hon. Vice Chancellor, University of Kerala (Patron)
Siddik Rabiyath (University of Kerala) (Organizing Secretary)
Nanditha Mathew (UNU-CRIS) (Organizing Secretary)
Anitha V (University of Kerala)
Prasad AK (University of Kerala)
Manju S Nair (University of Kerala)
Sheeja SR (University of Kerala)
Christabell PJ (University of Kerala)
Important dates
Submission deadline: July 30, 2025
Notification of acceptance: August 30, 2025
Registration deadline: October 15, 2025
Sending paper to the organisers/discussants: December 1, 2025
Conference Fees
Participants are required to pay the registration fee via bank transfer. The fee structure is based on the World Bank’s country income classification:
High Income Countries | Middle Income Countries | Low Income Countries | |
| Faculty at Higher Education Institutions | $250 | $75 | $25 |
| Other Professionals and Participants (Eg. Staff of international organizations, banks etc) | $400 | $300 | $150 |
| Students & Early Career Scholars | $150 | $50 | $0 |
| Daily Fee for Non-Presenting Participants | $100 | $25 | $0 |
Note: Country classification is based on the latest World Bank income categories.
