Yosha Wijngaarden (1987) is a PhD candidate at the Erasmus Research Centre for Media, Communication and Culture (ERMeCC). Under supervision of Dr. Erik Hitters and Prof.dr. Susanne Janssen, she studies how cultures of innovation develop in co-located creative industries. At this moment, she is mainly interested in the effects of the built environment and heritage on creative inspiration, as well as the influence and development of a creative and innovative field within small-scale clusters.

Yosha studied in Amsterdam and received her Bachelor’s degree in History in 2009 (cum laude), followed by a Master’s degree in Sociology and a Research Master’s degree in History in 2012. In her theses, she focused on urban policies and their successes in influencing an area’s reputation as well as on the Dutch science policy and its effects on (scientific) innovation. Before joining the Erasmus Research Centre for Media, Communication and Culture, Yosha worked as a policy officer at NWO.

Her main research interests include science and technology studies, innovation, cultural production, cultural sociology, ethnography, heritage, urban policy and cultural analysis.