“The Road towards an Innovative Aruba” by Thaïs Franken

 

Dear prospective participant,

I’m Thaïs Franken and I’m a double degree graduate student at the University of Maastricht and the United Nations University, majoring in MSc. Public Policy and Human Development, with a specialization in Innovation, Institutions and Development. I am now pursuing my passion for socio-economic sustainability and will conduct my master thesis research on the possible “policy” synergy between 2 prospective economies in Aruba; the
Creative Industries and the Knowledge Economy.

Culture and creativity have great influence in sustainable urban development with significant impact on the enhancement of a country’s quality of life, diversification of its economy and contribution to concepts like; entrepreneurship, social cohesion and cultural heritage. Now, as the Aruban government is focusing on innovation, this policy synergy could contribute with insights on diminishing employment challenges, decreasing the
brain drain, encouraging social entrepreneurship and stimulating more female participation in innovation.

I am looking forward for collaborating with you during my research and hope to inspire you to be part of something great for the sustainable development of Aruba.

Sincerely yours,

THAIS G. FRANKEN B.A.

Linkedin: Thaïs G. Franken

 

Supervisor:

Dr. Serdar Türkeli,

UNU-MERIT turkeli@merit.unu.edu