I am an economic geographer and am particularly interested in regional industrial pathway developments as well as the reconfiguration of regional innovation systems in the context of location-specific challenges. Through my work at ZeStuR and as part of my dissertation, I aim to explore the regional economic implications and dynamics of (supra-)national efforts toward strategic autonomy and contribute to a better understanding of them.

• Development of Regional Industrial Strategies
• Redesign of Regional Innovation Systems
• Open Strategic Autonomy

Since September 2026: Research Assistant, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg

October 2023 – August 2026: M.Sc. in Global Change and Sustainability, specializing in Economic Geography, at the University of Vienna

October 2020 – June 2023: B.Sc. in Geography, specializing in Human Geography, at the University of Vienna

De Jesus, C., Benner, M. (2026). Diverse agencies in reconfiguring regional innovation systems amid path decline: The Piedmontese automotive crisis. European Planning Studies, DOI: 10.1080/09654313.2026.2695296.