**Universitat de ValènciaCurriculum Vitae

IVAN CUESTA FERNANDEZ
E-mail ivan.cuesta(a)uv.es
Professional category AYUDANTE DR.
Department GEOGRAPHY
Phone number

Previous Tasks

Profesor Contractado Doctor. Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR). 22/03/2022 - 06/08/2026
Profesor externo - Master's Degree in development, tourism and Spanish culture. Universitat de València. 09/12/2025 - 04/02/2026
Profesor Asociado. Universidad Internacional de Valencia. 01/10/2019 - 26/05/2021
Tutor - tutorials semanales de alumnos de grado y máster. University of Edinburgh. 01/09/2018 - 31/12/2018
Técnico superior de investigación y docente (venia docendi). Universitat Politècnica de València. 01/06/2008 - 30/04/2012
Técnico superior de investigación - Cátedra de Transición Energética Urbana UPV. Universitat Politècnica de València. 11/12/2019 - 30/10/2023
Consultor Investigador. Universitat Politècnica de València. 01/05/2018 - 10/12/2019
Investigador - Proyecto 'David le da lecciones a Goliat: Sostenibilidad fuerte en iniciativas...'. Universitat Politècnica de València. 01/02/2018 - 01/04/2018
Investigador - Proyecto 'New political topographies: exploring large-scale economic infrastructure'. University of Edinburgh. 01/02/2015 - 30/06/2015
Técnico superior de investigación. Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. 01/12/2014 - 28/02/2015
Técnico de proyectos de sensibilización. Ingeniería Sin Fronteras País Vasco. 23/11/2004 - 07/03/2005
Delegado de cooperación internacional - República Democrática del Congo. Cruz Roja Española. 11/01/2006 - 10/01/2007
Asistente del programa Water Bank - Etiopía. Intermón Oxfam. 01/07/2005 - 01/11/2005
Trainee - D.G. Development, Brussels. Comisión Europea. 01/10/2003 - 28/02/2004

Other Tasks

1st six-year research period (sexenio) awarded by ANECA (2025), field: Human Geography (ANECA) . 01/01/2014 - 01/01/2024
Accreditation as an Associate Professor, Private University Professor and Assistant Professor. Field: History, Geography and Arts. Area of knowledge: Human Geography (ANECA) . 24/01/2022 - 24/01/2022
Teaching evaluated as "positive" under the initial modality of the DOCENTIA programme for the evaluation of teaching quality (DOCENTIA-UNIR, 2026) (Universidad Internacional de La Rioja) . 01/09/2023 - 31/07/2025
PhD scholarship, School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh () . 01/09/2013 - 31/08/2018
Award for the Best Undergraduate Dissertation from the Economic Geography Group of the Spanish Association of Geography () . 23/02/2026 - 23/02/2026
Citations in scientific journals: Web of Science: 209. Scopus: 215 () . 09/09/2026 - 09/09/2026
H-index = 8 (Web of Science) H-index = 7 (Scopus) () . 09/09/2026 - 09/09/2026
Member of Asociación Española de Geografía (Asociación Española de Geografía) . 30/04/2020
Member of Regional Studies Association (Regional Studies Association) . 14/02/2024

Other publications

Cuesta Fernández, Iván; Salom Carrasco, Julia (2026). Innovación radical en la ciudad post-COVID: análisis de cinco laboratorios de innovación ciudadana en ciudades españolas . In Desafíos de la Geografía ante el cambio global. Eje 2: cambio socio-territorial. XXIX Congreso de la Asociación Española de Geografía . (pp. 336 - 342) . Universidad de Extremadura . ISBN: 978-84-9127-349-3 . https://www.age-geografia.es/site/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/EJE2.CAMBIOSOCIO-TERRITORIALFinal.pdf
Peris Blanes, Jordi; Udovyk, Oksana; Cerezo, Fermín; Palau Salvador, Guillermo; Cuesta Fernández, Iván; Ortiz Miranda, Dionisio; Alapont, José Luis; Domingo, Débora; Montagud Montalvá, Carla; Escario Chust, Ana; Segura Calero, Sergio; Aranguiz, Pablo (2024). Building A City-University Partnership for Accelerating Urban Climate Neutrality: The Case of València (Spain) . In Higher Education and SDG11: Sustainable Cities and Communities . (pp. 133 - 144) . Emerald . ISBN: 978-1-83797-423-8 .
Cuesta Fernández, Iván; Belda Miquel, Sergio; Calabuig Tormo, Carola; Pellicer Sifres, Victoria (2020). Nuevas Espacialidades de la Transición Energética: Smart Grids Comunitarias en la Comunitat Valenciana. Desafíos y oportunidades de un mundo en transición: una interpretación desde la Geografía . In Desafíos y oportunidades de un mundo en transición: una interpretación desde la Geografía . (pp. 461 - 470) . Tirant Lo Blanch . ISBN: 978-84-9133-305-0 . https://puv.uv.es/llibre/desafios-y-oportunidades-de-unmundo-en-transicion-una-interpretacion-desde-la-geografia.html
Peris Blanes, Jordi; Belda Miquel, Sergio; Cuesta Fernández, Iván (2013). Educating development professionals for reflective and transformative agency: insights from a master's degree . In Human development and capabilities: Re-imagining the university for the twenty-first century . (pp. 192 - 203) . Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group . ISBN: 9780203075081 . https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/educating-development-professionals-reflective-transformative-agency-insights-master-degree-jordi-peris-sergio-
Calabuig Tormo, Carola; Cuesta Fernández, Iván (2004). La cooperación no gubernamental para el desarrollo . In La cooperación internacional para el desarrollo . (pp. 81 - 104) . Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universitat Politécnica de València . ISBN: 9788497056078 . https://aplicat.upv.es/exploraupv/ficha-publicacion/publicacion/57624
Cuesta Fernández, Iván (2019). Datos abiertos para el desarrollo (OD4D) en la Comunitat Valenciana . (pp. 1 - 148) . Ajuntament de Valencia . ISBN: 9788490891841 .

Academic training

Geografia i Ordenació del Territori . Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona . 11/07/2025 . (Diploma / Degree / Activities)
Ingeniero Industrial . Universitat Politècnica de València . 09/11/2001 . (Diploma / Degree / Activities)
African Studies (Estudis Africans) . University of Edinburgh . 27/11/2018 . (Ph.D.)
Máster Universitario en Política y Democracia . Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED) . 18/10/2011 . (Official Master)
Máster en Energías Renovables: Generación Eléctrica . Universidad Pública de Navarra . 02/12/2010 . (Official Master)
Máster en Desarrollo y Cooperación Internacional . Universidad del País Vasco . 24/11/2010 . (Specialized Training)

Management of R+D activities

Evaluador externo de la convocatoria de investigación ADSIDEO 2025 de la Universitat Politècnica de València . Evaluador externo de convocatoria de investigación . 2026

Activity interests

Economic geography of sustainability transitions . Universitat de València . (01/09/2025)
  • Geografía económica
  • Transiciones a la Sostenibilidad
  • Transición energética
  • Geografía regional
  • Geografía política
Development in regional peripheries . University of Edinburgh . (01/09/2012)
  • Geografía económica
  • Desarrollo humano local
  • Geografía regional
  • Desarrollo regional
  • cooperación internacional al desarrollo
  • Geografía política
Grassroots innovation in sustainability transitions . Universitat Politècnica de València, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Universitat de València . (01/01/2016)
  • Geografía económica
  • Transiciones a la Sostenibilidad
  • Transición energética
  • Geografía regional
  • Innovación Social

Organization of R+D activities

Revisor para la revista: Territory, Politics and Governance . Revisión científica por pares . 2021
Revisor para la revista: Energy and Sustainable Development . Revisión científica por pares . 2024
Revisor para la revista: Energy and Sustainable Development . Revisión científica por pares . 2025

Participations in Conferences

Cuesta-Fernandez, Ivan; Diaz-Faes, Adrian A. (2024). Mapping Policy Discourse Coalitions in Urban Energy Transitions in Valencia, Spain. (Communication) . Geography of Innovation 2024 (GEOINNO2024) . Manchester . UNITED KINGDOM
Cuesta Fernández, Iván; Belda Miquel, Sergio; Calabuig Tormo, Carola; Pellicer Sifres, Victoria (2019). Nuevas espacialidades de la transición energética: Smart Grids comunitarias en la Comunitat Valenciana. (Communication) . XXVI Congreso de la Asociación Española de Geografía . Valencia . SPAIN
Cuesta-Fernandez, Ivan (2018). Electric territorialities of universal access: grievances, regional reengineering and the ballot-box in core periphery relations. (Communication) . European International Studies Association . Praga . CZECH REPUBLIC
Cuesta-Fernandez, Ivan (2018). Community-owned smart grids: constructing new spatial orders in the energy transition. (Communication) . Royal Geographical Society-IBG Annual International Conference 2018 . Cardiff . UNITED KINGDOM
Cuesta-Fernandez, Ivan (2018). Electric territorialities of universal access: grievances, regional reengineering and the ballot box in core-periphery relations. (Communication) . Royal Geographical Society-IBG Annual International Conference 2018 . Cardiff . UNITED KINGDOM
Cuesta-Fernandez, Ivan (2018). Making peripheral railway corridors 'global': port authorities in Tanzania and Spain and the expanding frontier of geographical determinism. (Communication) . Royal Geographical Society-IBG Annual International Conference 2018 . Cardiff . UNITED KINGDOM
Cuesta-Fernandez, Ivan (2018). Governing 'l'Afrique inutile': unevenness by design in the electrification of Northern Ghana, 1989-2012. (Communication) . Development Studies Association UK 2018 . Manchester . UNITED KINGDOM
Calabuig Tormo, Carola; Cuesta-Fernandez, Ivan; Pellicer Sifres, Victoria; Belda Miquel, Sergio (2018). More than a fuel transition: community sustainability in the global energy transition. (Communication) . 9th International Sustainability Transitions Conference 2018 . Manchester . UNITED KINGDOM
Hönke, Jana; Cuesta-Fernandez, Ivan (2017). New political geographies of large-scale economic infrastructures: A 'topolography' of the port of Dar es Salaam. (Communication) . 11th Pan-European Conference on International Relations . Barcelona . SPAIN
Hönke, Jana; Cuesta-Fernandez, Ivan (2017). The many faces of gateway politics. Controversies over the port of Dar es Salaam (and Bagamoyo). (Communication) . 7th European Conference on African Studies . Basilea . SWITZERLAND
Hönke, Jana; Cuesta-Fernandez, Ivan (2015). The spatial effects of topological compression, the 'topolography' of the port of Dar Es Salaam. (Communication) . New Political Topographies : Trans-boundary Flows, Power and Legitimation in Africa and Beyond . Edimburgo . UNITED KINGDOM
Cuesta-Fernandez, Ivan (2012). Space and discourses of modernisation: electricity and state legitimacy in Ghana and Tanzania. (Communication) . 5th European Conference of African Studies . Lisboa . PORTUGAL
Peris Blanes, Jordi; López Torrejón, Estela; Cuesta Fernández, Iván; Boni Aristizábal, Alejandra (2009). From results to agency. Exploring possibilities for an operative framework for conceiving development projects. (Communication) . 2009 Conference Human Development and Capabilities Association . Lima . PERU
Siciliano, Giuseppina; Tornel, Carlos; Del Bene, Daniela; Pérez-Sánchez, Cristina; Cuesta-Fernandez, Ivan; de Juan, Ibai (2026). Uneven transitions: exploring the nexus between critical energy geographies, political ecology and decolonial approaches. (Chair of session) . POLLEN (Political Ecology Network) Conference 2026 . Barcelona . SPAIN
Kirshner, Joshua; Cuesta-Fernandez, Ivan (2019). The Politics of the Megawatts: Electricity and the Geographies of State-Building. (Chair of session) . Royal Geographical Society-IBG Annual International Conference 2019 . Londres . UNITED KINGDOM
Cuesta-Fernandez, Ivan (2019). Mapping the new spatialities of electricity infrastructure in the energy transition. (Chair of session) . Royal Geographical Society-IBG Annual International Conference 2019 . Londres . UNITED KINGDOM
Cuesta-Fernandez, Ivan (2018). The political economy of drives toward universal electrification in Sub-Saharan Africa. (Chair of session) . African Studies Association UK 2018 . Londres . UNITED KINGDOM
Kirshner, Joshua; Cuesta-Fernandez, Ivan (2018). Regional geographies of electricity: interrogating state territorialities from the periphery. (Chair of session) . Royal Geographical Society-IBG Annual International Conference 2018 . Cardiff . UNITED KINGDOM
Cuesta-Fernandez, Ivan (2017). Electric Scrambles, past and present: renovating the politics of the kilowatts and the megawatts across African polities. (Chair of session) . 7th European Conference on African Studies . Basilea . SWITZERLAND
Belda Miquel, Sergio; Peris Blanes, Jordi; Cuesta Fernández, Iván (2016). La participación como enfoque integral de aprendizaje para una práctica crítica en la gestión de proyectos de cooperación al desarrollo. El caso de un Máster en la UPV. (Poster) . II Congreso Nacional de Innovación Educativa y Docencia en Red . Valencia . SPAIN

Projects

Innovación socioeconómica y gobernanza metropolitana ante el cambio ambiental en la región de Madrid (Programa estatal de fomento de la investigación científica y técnica de excelencia. Subprograma Estatal de generación de conocimiento.) . 2025 - 2028 . Ref.PID2024-156170OB-C31 . Ministerio español de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades . PI: Fuente Fernández, Rosa María; Sánchez Moral, Simón Guillermo . Los objetivos y las actividades específicas de los subproyectos se articulan en torno a los objetivos generales del proyecto coordinado. Estos son: Objetivo 1. Estudiar los factores condicionantes de las estrategias de mitigación y adaptación en las áreas metropolitanas españolas. Objetivo 2. Estudiar los procesos socioeconómicos y las estrategias de mitigación, adaptación o regeneración asociadas a los desafíos ambientales en las áreas metropolitanas españolas, así como sus resultados. Objetivo 3. Extraer enseñanzas para la implementación de estrategias y políticas públicas orientadas a la mitigación, adaptación y regeneración, en relación con modelos de gobernanza metropolitana guiados por los principios de la gobernanza colaborativa.
  • Cambio climático
  • innovación socioeconómica
  • Gobernanza
  • Geografía económica
  • España
La movilización social como dimensión estratégica de la educación para el desarrollo. Estudio de experiencias desde una perspectiva N/S en el marco de la ciudadanía global y del enfoque basado en derechos' () . 2011 - 2013 . Ref.Código 11-CAP2-0995 . Agencia Española para la Cooperación INternacional y el Desarrollo (AECID) . PI: Alejandra Boni Aristizábal . (12 Researchers)
  • Desarrollo
  • Desarrollo Humano
  • Educación para el Desarrollo
  • Enfoque de derechos humanos
  • Movimientos sociales
  • ciudadanía global
  • movilización social
Informe de Datos Abiertos para el Desarrollo en la Comunitat Valenciana () . 2018 . Cátedra de Datos Abiertos de la Universitat Politècnica de València . PI: Diego Álvarez Sánchez . (1 Researchers)
  • datos abiertos
  • Gobernanza

Journal Publications

Cuesta-Fernandez, Ivan; Vargas Salgado, Carlos; Alfonso Solar, David; Gómez Navarro, Tomás (2023). The contribution of metropolitan areas to decarbonize the residential stock in Mediterranean cities: A GIS-based assessment of rooftop PV potential in Valencia, Spain. Sustainable Cities And Society, 97 . https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210670723003384 . ISSN: 2210-6707
Aparisi Cerdá, Isabel; Ribó Pérez, David; Cuesta-Fernandez, Ivan; Gómez Navarro, Tomás (2022). Planning positive energy districts in urban water fronts: Approach to La Marina de València, Spain. Energy Conversion and Management, 265 . https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2210670723003384 (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019689042200591X) . ISSN: 0196-8904
Pellicer-Sifres, Victoria; Belda-Miquel, Sergio; Cuesta-Fernandez, Ivan; Boni, Alejandra (2018). Learning, transformative action, and grassroots innovation: Insights from the Spanish energy cooperative Som Energia. Energy Research & Social Science, 42, pp. 100 - 111 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2018.03.001 . ISSN: 2214-6296
Talón Villacañas, Alba; Belda-Miquel, Sergio; Cuesta Fernández, Iván; Palau Salvador, Guillermo (2024). La innovación social desde la ciudadanía para avanzar en la gobernanza democrática de las ciudades: estudio del Ajuntament de València. Boletin de la Asociacion de Geografos Espanoles . Institutional Repository . ISSN: 0212-9426
Hönke, Jana; Cuesta-Fernandez, Ivan (2018). Mobilising security and logistics through an African port: A controversies approach to infrastructure. Mobilities, 13(2), pp. 246 - 260 . Institutional Repository . ISSN: 1745-0101
Hönke, Jana; Cuesta-Fernandez, Ivan (2017). A topolographical approach to infrastructure: Political topography, topology and the port of Dar es Salaam. Environment and Planning D-Society & Space, 35(6), pp. 1076 - 1095 . Institutional Repository . ISSN: 0263-7758
Belda-Miquel, S.; Boni, A.; Cuesta Fernández, I.; Peris, J. (2016). Are Rights-Based Approaches helping (re)politicise development NGOs? Exploring the Spanish case. International Development Planning Review, 38(2), pp. 137 - 157 . Institutional Repository . ISSN: 1474-6743

Thesis, minor thesis and research reports

Currricul@'s texts

Academic CV.

Iván Cuesta Fernández is a lecturer and researcher in Regional Geography in the INNODES Research Group at the University of Valencia. Since September 2026, he has been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Valencia (specialisation: Regional Geograpy). His research applies methods from Political Geography and the Geography of Political Economy to the study of sustainability transitions, innovation networks and the political coalitions underpinning them, and the development of urban areas and peripheral regions.

He holds the following accreditations and quality indicators:

- Accredited by ANECA (2022) as an Associate Professor (Profesor Contratado Doctor) (field: Social and Legal Sciences II; area of knowledge: Human Geography).
- One six-year research period (sexenio de investigación) recognised in 2024.
- Teaching evaluated as 'positive' under the initial modality of the DOCENTIA programme for the evaluation of teaching quality (DOCENTIA-UNIR, 2026).

- Citations: 198 (Web of Science); 207 (Scopus).
- H-index: 8 (Web of Science, July 2026); 7 (Scopus, July 2026).
- 9 scholarly articles in international and Spanish journals, including 4 in Q1 journals.
- 1 book and 9 book chapters, including publications with prestigious academic publishers such as Routledge, Ashgate, Emerald and Tirant lo Blanch.

His academic qualifications include:

- PhD in African Studies (University of Edinburgh, 2018).
- Bachelor's Degree in Geography and Spatial Planning (Autonomous University of Barcelona, 2025).
- Master's Degree in Politics and Democracy (National University of Distance Education, 2012).
- Master's Degree in Renewable Energy: Electricity Generation (Public University of Navarre, 2008).
- Master's Degree in Development and International Cooperation (University of the Basque Country, 2005).
- Industrial Engineering Degree (Polytechnic University of Valencia, 2001).
In research, since 2025 he has been a member of the research team of the coordinated project 'INNORESMET. Innovative socioeconomic adaptation and responses to environmental change in metropolitan contexts. Subproject 1. Socioeconomic innovation and metropolitan governance in response to environmental change in the Madrid region (INNOMET-MAD)' (Knowledge Generation Projects 2024, ¿71,250, Complutense University of Madrid). Between 2012 and 2018, prior to completing his PhD, he participated in two research projects on development studies and grassroots social innovation carried out by the Polytechnic University of Valencia (Department of Project Engineering and INGENIO CSIC-UPV Institute, 2012-2017 and 2016-2018, respectively). He also undertook consultancy work for the Polytechnic University of Valencia (client: Valencia City Council) and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.

His teaching experience includes:

- University of Valencia: since February 2026, he has taught courses in World Regional Geography and Geography of Tourism in Spain.
- Universidad Internacional de La Rioja (UNIR): from March 2022 to July 2026, he taught courses in Sustainable Development in Africa and Asia, Development and International Cooperation, and Management of the Cooperation Project Cycle (6 ECTS credits per course, two editions per academic year) on the Master's Degree in Development Cooperation: Project Management and Direction at UNIR. He also taught Human Geography on the Bachelor's Degree in International Cooperation and Geography, Ecology and Sustainability on the Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. During the 2024/25 academic year, he taught Globalisation, Politics and Economics on the official Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.
- Valencia International University: in 2019 and 2020, he taught Energy, Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability on the Bachelor's Degree in International Relations, and also taught International Political Economy on the Master's Degree in Foreign Policy.
- Technical University of Valencia: between 2008 and 2012, he taught in person on the Master's Degree in Development Cooperation and through a blended-learning format on the Master's Degree in Development Policies and Processes.

Between 2013 and 2017, he held a competitive doctoral scholarship awarded by the School of Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh. At the same university, in 2018 he taught tutorials to undergraduate, master's and doctoral students in research methodology and international development.

Prior to his academic career, he developed his professional career in the field of international development in Belgium, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Spain.