International exposure

My international experience has been a cornerstone of both my personal and professional development, profoundly shaping my approach to teaching, research, and engagement in the academia.

Over the course of my career, I have had the privilege of studying and working across various international contexts, including both developed and developing countries. I started my studies in economics with a four-year Laurea (BA and MSc equivalent) at the University of Rome La Sapienza, Italy (2001). In 2008-09, I followed the one-year specialized master in microfinance (European Microfinance Programme, EMP) organized by the CERMi and the Académie Wallonie-Bruxelles. In September 2010, thanks to an Action de Recherche Concertée (ARC) grant sponsored by UMONS, I started the Ph.D. program in economics and management science also with the CERMi, under the supervision of Marc Labie (UMONS) and Ariane Szafarz (ULB). During my post-graduate studies, I conduct field research in India and in Bangladesh.

For my postdoctoral studies, I was visiting scholar at the University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley), thanks to an invitation from Alain de Janvry. I first met Alain in June 2013 when he invited me to the workshop on “Flexible financial products for poor people to address risk”, which he organized at the Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches sur le Développement International (CERDI) in Clermont-Ferrand, France. This workshop gathered worldwide experts in microfinance. Since then, I am proud to be part of a network of international experts in the field. Alain de Janvry has invited me to UC Berkeley in order to pursue the research work initiated at the workshop, in collaboration with himself and the researchers from the Centre for Effective Global Action (CEGA) based at UC Berkeley. CEGA is the University of California's premiere centre for research on global development.

After U.S., I was back to Brussels where I continued for two years to do research with the CERMi thanks to a grant from the Belgian Fund for Scientific Research (F.R.S.- FNRS). After that, I got the position of assistant professor at the University of Groningen, where I had the pleasure to work with outstanding scholar such as Niels Hermes, Robert Lensink, Viola Angelini and Rob Alessie. Finally, my international experience goes beyond the Ph.D. and the academia. For almost nine years I worked as an economist/consultant in various institutions (NGOs, consulting firms, and international organizations) in Italy, Belgium, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Angola, and Kurdistan.

Since I started my studies in economics, my work has been recognized with prizes and grants. The master thesis in economics, titled “Intertemporal choices and optimal monetary policy in a dynamic stochastic Keynesian model with rational expectations”, was awarded by the Oddone Fantini Prize (2001). I won the University Meets Microfinance scholarship to finance three-month field research in India at the end of the EMP (2009). I was granted an ARC fellowship to finance my Ph.D. (2010) and I was among the finalists at the European Microfinance Research Award (2011). In 2014, I won the fellowship for visiting students, sponsored jointly by ULB and UC Berkeley, and I have been awarded funding from UMONS Fonds Franeau Mobilité, to finance my research stay at UC Berkeley. Finally, I was awarded by the Belgian Fund for Scientific Research (F.R.S.-FNRS) a three-year scholarship to pursue my postdoctoral research projects at ULB with the CERMi.

I have been active in the academic life, presenting my research in many international seminars and conferences in Europe and U.S. In U.S. I participated to numerous ASSA annual meetings, where I met with academics from all over the world; and I also took part to various meetings by the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economic Profession (CSWEP).

I have also been keen in participating to various international training to perfectionate my skills and knowledge as an academic. Besides the doctoral training, during the Ph.D. I followed two summer schools: one in Randomized Control Trials by the J-PAL (ULB, Sep 2011) and another one on Estimation of Efficiency and Competition in Banking (University of Rome III, Jul 2011). During my research stay in Berkely, I was auditing the lecture in behavioural economics of Stefano DellaVigna, world-renowned academic in the field. While I was working in Groningen, I followed the University Teaching Skills (UTS) program to enhance my teaching skills.

My international experiences have been integral to shaping my teaching philosophy. The diverse, global perspectives I have encountered allow me to bring a wealth of real- world examples and case studies into the classroom. I draw on my international experiences to expose students to the challenges and opportunities they will face as they work, whether they are creating innovative financial products for underserved communities, measuring the impact of social enterprises, or navigating the complexities of sustainable investing. Additionally, my international network enables me to provide students with unique opportunities for internships, field research, and collaborative projects with international organizations.

Overall, my international experiences have enriched my skills in ways that would not have been possible through domestic experiences alone. I firmly believe that exposure to diverse cultures and perspectives enriches one’s understanding of complex issues and enhances the ability to solve problems creatively. My international experiences have not only broadened my worldview but have also allowed me to develop a strong network of partners, colleagues, and mentors across the world. Today I am well equipped with the mindset, the institutional relationships and networking capabilities which allow me to serve and make an important impact both in the classroom and in the society.