Mayte is a PhD candidate within Innovation Studies at the Copernicus Institute for Sustainable Development. Her research focuses on the role of transformative spaces in fostering sustainability transitions.

Transformative spaces are spaces where different types of actors come together with the intention to collaboratively contribute to transformative changes towards sustainability. They take place in many shapes (e.g. platforms, projects, labs, roundtables), include different stakeholders (e.g. government, business, civil society) and can cover several sectors (e.g. mobility, agriculture, industry). Mayte is specifically interested in analysing and improving the transformative potential of these spaces. Her PhD project is supervised by Prof. dr. Flor Avelino, Dr. Sanne Akerboom and Dr. Christina Bidmon.

In general, Mayte's research interest lies in sustainability transitions more broadly, and specifically in governance and policy issues, discursive and narrative approaches and questions of power and justice. Next to that, she is interested in the role that universities in general, and PhD candidates in particular, can play in addressing societal challenges.

Before starting her work at Copernicus, Mayte helped to build up the Design Impact Transition (DIT) platform at Erasmus University Rotterdam, a strategic project aimed at empowering transformative and transdisciplinary research and education. Mayte is a historian and policy analyst by training. She graduated cum laude from Maastricht University with a double degree in Public Policy and Human Development and obtained a BA in History from Utrecht University.

If you have questions about Mayte's work or if you are interested in collaborating, you can always reach out by e-mail.