DPhil in Science and Technology Policy Studies

Sectors such as agriculture, energy, and mobility require systemic changes towards sustainability. Florian Kern is researching how policy makers can steer and accelerate these processes. The political scientist examines the governance of sustainability transitions and the associated societal negotiation processes and their politics. As a transitions researcher, he is particularly interested in how innovations can contribute to change and how transition processes can be promoted through policy mixes. 

Florian Kern has headed the research group “Environmental Economics and Environmental Policy” at the IÖW since 2018 and coordinates the thematic areas “Environmental Policy and Governance” as well as “Innovation and Technologies” across the institute. Since June 2024 he is Chair of the international Sustainability Transitions Research Network (STRN).

Publications (Download List, PDF 0,4 MB) │ Projects │ Presentations 

Main focus

• Socio-technical transitions
• Innovation and technology policy
• Environmental policy
   

Experience

• Since 05/2018: Head of the Research Group Ecological Economics and Environmental Policy at the IÖW
• 2014 – 2018: Senior Lecturer, Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), University of Sussex
• 2013 – 2018: Co-Director Sussex Energy Group, University of Sussex
• 2005 – 2014: Research Fellow and Lecturer, Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), University of Sussex
   

Education

• 2005 – 2010: DPhil in Science and Technology Policy Studies, University of Sussex, Great Britain
• 2003 – 2005: Master of Science in Technological and Socio-Economic Planning, Roskilde University, Denmark
• 2000 – 2003: Studies in Political Science, Free University of Berlin, Germany
   

Commitment and committees

• Chair of the international Sustainability Transitions Research Network (STRN)
• Member of the Academic Sounding Board of the Cohesion for Transition (C4T) Community of Practice
• 2017 – 2023: Associate editor of the journal Research Policy