MSc LED Field Trip

MSc Local Economic Development Field Trip

The trip takes place in Autumn Term, serving as a great opportunity to socialise with peers and staff, as well as providing real-world grounding for the concepts and theories learned during the Master's programme. 

Students visit L’Aquila, capital of the Abruzzo region of Italy, which was heavily damaged by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck the city on April 6, 2009. The field trip focuses on the mammoth reconstruction efforts since the disaster, including the complexities in the structures and governance that oversee this process.

We are fortunate to partner with colleagues at the Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI), who host us at lectures and panel discussions, as well as drinks and social events. We also visit local firms and institutions that have been central to the local economic development of post-earthquake L’Aquila, providing case studies for local business resilience.

In order to forefront the scientific excellence of the region, we visit the Gran Sasso Laboratory: the largest underground research centre in the world. This is a remarkable opportunity, during which we are taken on a tour of the facility by on-site physicists.

Every year we look for new occasions to explore the striking artistic and natural capital of the city and the region, including old villages and the Gran Sasso National Park.

See photos and reflections of L'Aquila and its territory as seen by students of the Local Capacity and Economic Development Policy course, 2019-20.