"Research Focus Asia" at the Department of Geography and Regional Research, University of Vienna

No other continent or world region has witnessed more dynamic economic, demographic, and social transformations than parts of Asia during the last decades. Especially India and several countries of East and Southeast Asia have already become imortant global players, while only a few decades ago, most of them were considered to be backward and dominated by agriculture. Increasingly complex economic interrelationships between the more developed countries and the so-called Asian NIC´s as well as the soaring attractiveness of several parts of Asia as booming destinations of mass tourism, have led to a growing demand for regional experts, for example as consultants in economic matters, politics or mass media. Other countries in the region, however, still belong to the poorest nations on Earth and are thus target areas of international development cooperation. Again this field, where a broad multi-paradigmatic approach seems appropriate, offers various job opportunities for geographers, e. g. in project development, consulting and evaluation. For these reasons we offer at our department the possibility to specialize within the curriculum "Geography Diploma" in "development studies / development cooperation" with a regional focus on Asia (especially Southeast and South Asia).