Meet the Team
Paula Ungureanu
Paula Ungureanu is Associate Professor at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in the Department for Methods and Sciences of Engineering and the Principal Investigator of TruMaN. She studies how collaboration takes place at the boundaries of new forms of organization occasioned by emerging technologies such as cross-sector partnerships or ecosystems. Her latest projects investigate the impact of emerging technologies such as blockchains, big data and AI on individuals’ trust, collaboration, expertise, and resilience in the digital world. Her work has been published in several highly ranked journals such as Organization Studies, Strategic Organization, Journal of Business Ethics, Academy of Management Learning and Education, among others. Paula is part of the Technological Organization Processes (TOP) Research Group at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, within the interdisciplinary Department of Methods of Sciences and Engineering (DISMI). The group operates at the crossroads of management, organization and engineering disciplines, studying new forms of work and collaboration consequent to the introduction of new technologies and innovative forms of organizing.
Hannah Bensussan
Hannah Bensussan is a political and socio-economist. She obtained her PhD on market coordination and information technologies from the University Sorbonne Paris Nord. She is now a post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Sciences and Methods for Engineering at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, and a temporary lecturer in political economy at the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
Rosa Grimaldi
Rosa Grimaldi is Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management at the University of Bologna, Department of Management. She is Deputy Major for the city of Bologna for innovation, and economic development. She teaches ‘Technology Entrepreneurship’ at the School of Engineering at postgraduate and executive education levels. She is the Director of the Executive Master in Technology and Innovation Management (EMTIM) at BBS (Bologna Business School). She teaches in different executive programs in the fields of innovation management and entrepreneurship, targeting the most innovative companies of the region Emilia Romagna. She is Board Member at Maps S.p.A. and at BolognaFiere S.p.A. She has been from 2016 to 2021 Vice Rector for Entrepreneurship and relations with companies at the University of Bologna. In the domain of Universities’ third mission, she has served as expert evaluator in the national Assessment of third mission and engagement of Italian Universities run buy ANVUR (National Agency for Assessment of Universities). She has been member of CTS (Comitato Tecnico Scientifico) ART-ER – Regional Agency in support of Research, Innovation and Technology. She is member of the Scientific Board of NETVAL (National Association for valorisation of research results). She is member of the Advisory Board of IUSS (Scuola Università Superiore Pavia). Most of her scientific production is about New Business Creation, Entrepreneurship, and Technology Transfer. On these topics she has publications on national journals and international journals (including Research Policy, R&D Management, Technology and Innovation Management, Journal of Business Venturing, Small Business Economics, Scientometrics, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of Technology Transfer).
Giuliano Lemme
Giuliano Lemme is Full Professor of Economics Law at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. He was admitted as solicitor and barrister before the Bar of Rome in 1991, and as Supreme Court barrister in 2003. He is a member of Arbitro Bancario Finanziario, appointed by the Bank of Italy, and co-director of two scientific journals, Rivista di Diritto dell’Asia Orientale and Il foro Padano. He authored several monographs and numerous scientific essays. His current scientific interests include cryptocurrencies and payment systems, Japanese banking law, customer rights, smart contracts, and the blockchain.
Massimo Pilati
Massimo Pilati is Professor of Organizational Behaviour at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Department of Economics “Marco Biagi”. He is Faculty member of PHD Programme in Labour, Development & Innovation, at the Marco Biagi Foundation, Modena. His research interests are Problem Solving and Decision Making, Human Resource Management, Matrix Management, and Project Organization. He has been Visiting Professor at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou, China; Visiting Scholar at IESEG School of Management, Lille, France; Visiting Scholar at Universidad de Saragoza and Universidad de Sevilla, Spain; Visiting faculty member at University of Limerick, Ireland; Visiting Professor at University of Florida, USA.
Elisa Villani
Elisa Villani is an Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management at the University of Bologna and Bologna Business School. Before joining the University of Bologna, she was Assistant Professor at the Free University of Bolzano. She was also a visiting researcher at Imperial College Business School. Elisa is Associate Editor at the Journal of Business Research for entrepreneurship and innovation. Her research interests lie in the areas of organizational behavior and dynamics, innovation, and knowledge transfer. Elisa has published in top journals, such as Organization Science, Journal of Management, Journal of Management Studies, Technovation, Technological Forecasting & Social Change, and Journal of Business Research.
Tariku Ayana Abdi
Tariku Ayana Abdi holds a Ph.D. in Sciences of Mind (Work and Organizational Psychology), Doctor Europaeus, from the University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli.” Since July 2023, he has been working as a research fellow at the University of Bologna, Department of Management Science.
Remo Pareschi
Remo Pareschi, PhD, is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Molise, Italy, which he joined in 2005. He specializes in Artificial Intelligence, Databases, and Information Systems for undergraduate students, and Semantic Intelligence for Cybersecurity for master’s students. Prof. Pareschi obtained his doctorate in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Edinburgh and holds a Master of Arts in Computational Linguistics from the University of Texas at Austin. His academic journey began with a Laurea in Mathematical Logic from the University of Bologna. With a career spanning over three decades, Prof. Pareschi has held significant research and management positions at prestigious institutions, including the European Computer-Industry Research Centre in Munich, Xerox Corporation in Milan and Meylan, and Telecom Italia in Rome. At Telecom Italia, he supervised R&D activities, including those at the CSELT research center in Turin. His work at Xerox involved transferring R&D results into consulting projects with end customers, while at the European Computer-Industry Research Centre, he led a team focused on distributed systems. Prof. Pareschi co-founded several innovative start-ups and university spin-offs, including Datasound, which focuses on big data analytics, and BB-SMILE, a joint venture between the University of Rome La Sapienza and the University of Molise. He is also the co-director of the STAKE Lab (Software and Knowledge Engineering Lab) at the University of Molise. As a principal investigator in European-funded research projects, Prof. Pareschi’s current research focuses on digital decision-making, both at operational and strategic levels. He explores AI and distributed systems for optimizing agri-food operations and studies corporate strategic decision-making supported by advanced data analytics, intelligent automation, and blockchain- secured information flows. His foundational research delves into multi-agent systems, hybrid intelligence models (centaurian systems), and innovative paradigms for human-computer interaction. Prof. Pareschi is the author of several influential books, including Artificial Intelligence: Journey among the Thinking Machines That Will Change Our Future (Hachette, 2019) and Centaur Art: The Future of Art in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (Springer, 2024). He has also edited special issues for journals such as Frontiers in Human Dynamics and has published extensively in peer- reviewed journals on topics ranging from blockchain technology and smart contracts to AI- driven supply chain management and cognitive trading architectures. His work has been recognized in numerous high-impact publications, including articles in Frontiers in Blockchain, Concurrency and Computation: Practice and Experience, andBlockchain: Research and Applications. Prof. Pareschi’s research continues pushing the boundaries of AI, blockchain, and human-AI collaboration, focusing on relevant applications in agriculture, logistics, and healthcare industries.
Francesco Salzano
Francesco Salzano is an Information Engineer and Research Fellow at the University of Molise. His research focuses on blockchain-based system architecture, software engineering for blockchain and smart contracts. He dedicates his research effort to vulnerability detection and mitigation in smart contracts, with a particular emphasis on open-source developer practices. Additionally, he explores the application of Artifical Intelligence and Large Language Models to enhance security and clone detection for smart contracts deployed on the blockchain. His professional activity involves several collaboration with IT companies as an IT architect, project manager and full-stack developer.