Judith Terstriep (Dr. rer. pol.) is head of the research department »Innovation, Space & Culture« at the Institute for Work and Technology at Westfälische Hochschule Gelsenkirchen and a lecturer at Ruhr-Universität Bochum. She has extensive experience in innovation research. Her primary research interests focus on the interplay of innovation, social relations, and knowledge from the perspectives of innovation studies, management, and spatial theory, contributing to just transitions and societal change.

Stefan Gärtner (Prof. Dr.) is managing director of the Institute for Work and Technology at Westfälische Hochschule Gelsenkirchen. There, he is responsible for the research focus Spatial Capital. His academic work concentrates on urban and regional economies as well as on forms of urban production. He completed both his studies and his doctorate at Technische Universität Dortmund.