Applied research experiences in the USA and Europe

Currentcity (2009–2012)

  • spin-off from the MIT Senseable City Laboratory (Real-Time Rome project)
  • location: Amsterdam (NL)
  • mission: to observe and understand cities in real time and retrospectively by aggregating and analyzing various forms of anonymized digital data generated by people
  • field of expertise: data analytics applied to smart cities
  • role in Currentcity: co-founder and director (jointly with Prof. Euro Beinat)
  • industrial partners: KPN Telecom, Telecom Italia
  • clients: Cisco, Tellart, Amsterdam Police, RWS (Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management), PBL (Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency)
  • participation in industry trade events and international conferences: Partnership for Urban Innovation (Shanghai Expo 2010), Picnic, Club van Maarssen (RWS), ICT Delta, Rotterdam Open Data
  • media coverage (English): ORF, Innovcity, The Economist, Financial Times, MIT Technology Review

History Unwired (2006– ) / Untravel Media

  • spin-off from MIT Comparative Media Studies, MIT Senseable City Laboratory, IUAV – Venice School of Design and Arts
  • mission: to reinvent the way tourists explore cities and interact with locals through mobile devices
  • field of expertise: mobile narratives and digital storytelling
  • role in History Unwired: co-founder and project manager (jointly with Michael Epstein and Cristóbal García)
  • role in Untravel Media: none
  • industrial partners (History Unwired): Design Continuum, Motorola, Dell Italia, Ericsson Italia, H3G Italia, Unindustria Venezia
  • sponsors (History Unwired): Veneto Regional Authority, Venice Association of Hoteliers, Venice Biennale, Venice Tourist Guides Association
  • media coverage (History Unwired): Wired, BBC, El País, Corriere della Sera, Turisti per Caso

On behalf of the MIT Senseable City Laboratory, I contributed to the development and negotiation of new Research & Development partnerships, helping to build the Senseable Cities Consortium:

  • World Bank (2012)
    Industry: Banking
    Partnership focus: new transportation solutions for the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region
  • Vale (2011)
    Industry: Mining
    Partnership focus: new tracking technologies in the Amazon for sustainable development
  • BBVA Group (2010)
    Industry: Banking
    Partnership focus: a digital platform for real-time data sharing and marketing
  • ENEL Group (2009)
    Industry: Energy
    Partnership focus: location-based technologies for worker safety in construction plants
  • General Electric (2009)
    Industry: Conglomerates
    Partnership focus: creative visualization of health and energy data
  • Government of Singapore (2009)
    Industry: Transportation
    Partnership focus: future urban mobility
  • Florence Provincial Authority, Italy (2006–2007)
    Industry: Tourism, Innovation
    Partnership focus: mapping tourism through Flickr.com; organization of an international conference on urban Wi-Fi initiatives

I have been appointed as an external consultant by several organizations:

  • Fondazione Golinelli (2015–present)
    Domain: new educational pathways for university students; design thinking education; university–industry collaboration; education for academic leaders
  • Bonfiglioli Consulting (2014)
    Domain: human factors in lean management; bottom-up qualitative research in manufacturing companies
  • United Nations – ITU (International Telecommunication Union) (2012)
    Appointed as expert in the focus group “Bridging the gap: from innovation to standards”
  • European Union – Alpine Space Programme (2011)
    Appointed as expert for the development of a regional macro-strategy for the Alpine area
  • European Commission – DG Information Society (2010)
    Appointed as expert for proposal evaluation
  • Masdar City / C2Mill (2009)
    Domain: design of an innovative urban wayfinding system
  • Asia (Italy–China Technology Transfer) (2007)
    Participation in a delegation of Italian entrepreneurs to China
  • Reed Elsevier Italia (2006)
    Domain: design of a survey on the acceptance of e-learning services
  • Association of Artisan Businesses, Treviso (2005)
    Domain: design of a new business incubator for creative companies

Previously, I also served as an intern at the following organizations:

  • ETS European Consultants / European Parliament (2002)
  • University of Salamanca – Press and Public Relations Office (2001)