Thesis supervision

Supervision, Mentorship, and Academic Training

I am strongly committed to mentoring the next generation of scholars and practitioners, both within my home institution and through expanding national and international academic networks. Supervision is a core component of my academic work and a space of close intellectual collaboration, where students are supported in developing theoretically grounded and empirically robust research projects.

My supervision activity spans Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral levels, guiding students through complex research processes at the intersection of social theory, empirical investigation, and societal relevance. I currently serve as Primary Supervisor for PhD candidates and Master’s students at the University of Trento, and regularly act as Visiting Thesis Supervisor and Examiner for Master’s students at Maastricht University (School of Business and Economics / Maastricht Sustainability Institute), contributing to interdisciplinary programmes in sustainability.

I welcome prospective students interested in developing research projects within the following areas:

• New Forms of Political Participation and Collective Action, including political consumerism, lifestyle activism, and sustainable community movement organisations;

• Sociology of Consumption and Sustainable Lifestyles, with a focus on critical and collaborative consumption, sharing economies, and practices of sufficiency;

• Food Systems, Democracy, and Governance, including alternative food networks, urban food policies, food citizenship, and agroecological transitions;

• Social Movements and Grassroots Innovation, examining the role of civil society in socio-ecological transitions and just sustainability;

• Methodological Approaches, including mixed-methods research design, qualitative and ethnographic methods, and survey-based analysis of social practices.

To date, I have supervised over 40 Master’s theses at the University of Trento (and previously more than 50 at the University of Bergamo) and acted as primary supervisor for three completed PhD dissertations, with graduates now pursuing careers in academia, public administration, and policy-related fields. My approach to supervision emphasises theoretical rigour, methodological coherence, and the development of students’ independent research voices, within a supportive, collaborative, and reflexive learning environment.