Academic Bio

“Insular” interdisciplinarity should be complemented with systemic interdisciplinarity. If the former aims to approach a given issue from different disciplinary angles, the latter focuses on exploring how that given issue is the result of interdependence with other issues.

Formal Academic Titles

  • [2011] PhD in Economics, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Applied/Spatial Econ.)
  • [2001] BA & MA in Communication Sciences, University of Padua

Current Affiliations

Past Research Affiliations

  • [2005–2010] Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Senseable City Laboratory, with a role bridging research, technology transfer and relations with companies
  • [2006–2009] Austrian Academy of Sciences, Geographic Information Science Unit
  • [2004–2006] University of Milano-Bicocca, Quality of Living in the Information Society Lab
  • [2002–2004] Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Center for Educational Research and Teaching

Teaching Appointments

  • [2016–present] University of Bologna, Sustainable Business
  • [2016–present] Golinelli Foundation, Teaching and Mentorship on special projects for university students
  • [2015–2016] Bologna Business School, Professional Development and Smart Cities

Academic Start-ups

See descriptions of all applied research experiences in the USA and Europe (2001–2012).

I began my multidisciplinary journey in the social sciences with a full degree (BA + MA) in Communication Sciences from the University of Padova (2001), followed by a PhD in Economics at the Free University of Amsterdam, in the Netherlands (2011).

My PhD research emerged from an innovative partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where I spent several years (2005–2010) at the Senseable City Laboratory studying behavioral changes induced by new mobile technologies.

During my time in Boston, I came to appreciate the culmination of a powerful materialist, techno-centric scientific philosophy, along with both its strengths and its excesses. My involvement as co-founder of two academic start-ups allowed me to experience the tech world from the inside, while simultaneously developing further as a “real-world” social scientist.

Upon returning to Italy, I decided to redirect my journey toward more humanistic yet applied fields that resonated with me personally—namely business sustainability, ethics, and leadership. My collaboration with the Great Place To Work Institute proved instrumental in allowing me to explore these emerging topics in depth, learning to understand the business world through the eyes of its protagonists. At the same time, a new philosophical interest began to grow strongly within me: exploring the frontiers between science and spirituality, and the emergence of a new unitive paradigm.