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Study module coordinators

Modules are taught by faculty leading their field of research and augmented by experienced practitioners drawn from industry, business and government, equipping participants with the latest knowledge and skills.

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Dr Matteo Caglioni

Associate Professor in Geography at Université Côte d’Azur
Program Director and Coordinator of the Smart Mobility and Transportation module

Engineer in Environmental Management and Urban Planning, graduated in 2003 from the Engineering Faculty of Polytechnic of Milan (Italy), he achieved the qualification to practice engineering profession in the same year. Awarded with scholarship for Ph.D. program on Sciences and Methods for the European City and Territory, in 2008 he got a doctoral degree at the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Pisa (Italy). Lecturing at different graduate and post-graduate levels, in 2013 he joined the University Nice Sophia Antipolis (France), as Associate Professor in Geography and researcher at ESPACE laboratory of CNRS. Awarded with UNS prize for research in 2014, currently he is the Head of Department of Geography, Urban Planning and Sustainable Environment.

Member of several COST Actions of European Commission in Transport and Urban Development (TUD) and Trans-Disciplinary (TD) domains, he applied for specialized training school in 3D-GeoInformation for Risk Management at Technology University of Delft and at University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands). His main teaching and research fields are Urban Modelling and Geosimulation, Artificial Intelligence in Geocomputation, Smart Mobility, Geographical Information Science, Spatial and Data Analysis, Big Data and Volunteered Geographical Information, Ontology and Semantic Enrichment of 3D City Models.

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Marianne Mensah

Climate Educator and Coordinator of the Smart and Sustainable Cities module

Marianne Mensah works on developing international partnerships which foster excellence, innovation, and cross-disciplinary projects to address societal challenges. Prior to joining UCA, Marianne worked for international development agencies. At the French Development Agency (AFD), she served the group as a Regional Coordinator where she worked on environment, energy, and education projects. Prior to AFD, she worked for UNDP on project coordination and performance reviews in Brazil, in Africa and various countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

She contributed to publications on innovations for sustainable development and on innovative finance. She holds a master’s in public administration from Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a master’s in economics from Sciences-Po Paris.

Léna Felderhoff

Léna Felderhoff

Consultant, Trainer & Lecturer – Founder of Mission Eco Humans, Lecturer in the Smart and Sustainable Cities module

After 6 years of commitment to the Ecological and Solidarity Transition, with strong knowledge of local issues, expertise in pedagogy of change, and a multi-actor network, Léna has created an awareness-raising offer bringing together Trainings, Workshops (Climate Fresck, Digital Fresk, 2 Tons, Our low carbon lives, etc.) and Consulting services (Carbon Footprint Assessment, Transition Plan etc.). Léna also gives Conferences, for instance with her book as a co-author “Basculons dans un monde vi(v)able”.

Léna participates in the development of the Passeport Transition 06 which trains the region’s CEOs. Prior to that, Léna worked for KPMG in CSR, co-created the Training center for Ecology: LUMIA in Mouans-Sartoux (next to Cannes). She also co-lead the first COP in France, organized by students: the “COP1 Étudiante”, which has become now a national movement in Higher Education with a COP2 Étudiante, COP 3 Étudiante…

Whatever her activities, one constant prevails: Léna’s enthusiastic and communicative energy that will make you want to act!

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Dr Giovanni Fusco

Research Director in Geography and Planning at Université Côte d’Azur
Coordinator of the Urban Design for Sustainable Neighbourhoods

Engineer in Environment and Planning (Politecnico di Milano, Italy), PhD in Geography (University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis) and in Urban, Territorial and Environmental Planning (Politecnico di Milano). Formerly Associate Professor of geography and planning at the University of Nice Sophia-Antipolis, joined CNRS in 2012. His main research interests are spatial analysis and modelling of urban space, urban morphology, metropolisation process, housing and residential segregation, transportation geography, sustainable urban development, spatial strategic foresight, artificial intelligence applied to urban modelling, uncertainty issues in geographic knowledge. His main fields are urban and regional systems in Mediterranean Europe (France, Italy, Spain), North America (Canada) and Emerging Countries (India, Latin America).

Director of several research projects on urban and regional modelling with grants from CNRS, PREDIT (French National Research Program on Land Transportation), ANR (French National Research Agency), DATAR (French Agency for National and Regional Planning), the French Ministry of Environment and Planning, local authorities and private bodies (Renault, CCINCA). Member of the European Research Group Spatial Simulation for the Social Science, GDR Magis and Policy Analytics, member of the scientific board of Computer Environment and Urban Systems and L’Espace Géographique.

Valerio Cutini

Pr. Valerio Cutini

Full Professor of Town Planning, University of Pisa (Italy), Lecturer in the Urban Design for Sustainable Neighbourhoods module

Valerio is a Professor of Urban Planning in the Department of Engineering for Energy, Systems, Territory and Constructions – DESTeC – at the University of Pisa, where he has been a faculty member since 1996, teaching the courses of Town Planning and Urban Modelling. He is the DESTeC department’s vice Director. Valerio completed his Ph.D. at the University of Bologna and his graduate studies in Civil Engineering at the University of Pisa. His research interests lie in the area of the analysis of urban settlements and urban development processes, ranging from theory to design to implementation, with a specific focus on the analysis of spatial networks; his contributions mainly concern methods and operational models for spatial analysis, urban morphology, knowledge tools applied to urban modelling.

Valerio has given lectures in several universities in Italy and abroad (including Georgia Institute of Technology, Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio, Université Côte d’Azur, Biskra University), served as chairman or speaker on dozens of international conferences and workshop program committees (including several Space Syntax symposia, ICCSA conferences, ERSA conferences, ECTQG colloquia, INPUT conferences), as well as member of the editorial board of scientific journals.
He has published 58 articles on peer-reviewed scientific journals, 7 scientific books, 71 chapters in scientific books or proceedings of international conferences.

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Pr. Jurate Kamicaityte

Professor and Head of Architecture study programs, Kaunas University of Technology (Lithuania), Lecturer in the Urban Design for Sustainable Neighbourhoods module

Dr. Jurate Kamicaityte is a professor at the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture of Kauna University of Technology. Today, she is the author and co-author of more than 50 scientific articles, 2 course books and a scientific study; presented research results at more than 30 national and international scientific conferences. Together with co-authors prepared 20 architectural and spatial planning projects; participated and is participating in 8 national and international research projects. Jurate is head of architecture study programs and a member of the Doctoral Committee of History and Theory of Arts. She is also a member of editorial board of the scientific Journal of Sustainable Architecture and Civil Engineering.

Her main research interests include analysis and evaluation of landscape visual quality, methods of visual impact assessment, evaluation of potential and dynamics of city structures, cultural and landscape identity studies, expression of sustainable development concept in architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning. Since 2018, she is a member of the Research Group “Cultural and Spatial Environment” at the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture (KTU) and an associate member of the research laboratory of CNRS ESPACE UMR 7300 (AIx-Marseille University).

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Dr. Benoit Couraud

Associate Researcher at University of Glasgow, Energy and Data Scientist at IMREDD, Université Côte d’Azur, Co-coordinator of the AI & Urban Analytics module

Benoit received an Engineering degree from École Centrale de Lyon (France) and a master’s degree in electronic and electrical engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China). He received a PhD in electronics and telecommunications that focused on wireless power transfer optimization at IM2NP Laboratory, University of Aix-Marseille (France). He is currently working as an engineer for Smart Home applications at IMREDD, Université Côte d’Azur, and is also working as a research associate the University of Glasgow (UK). His current activities’ topics involve artificial intelligence, electricity market and optimization tools for renewable energies, and smart grids.

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Valentina Vologni

Project Manager at Capenergies (green and low carbon energies competitiveness cluster)
Coordinator of the Smart Energy and Transitions module

Environmental Engineer, Valentina Vologni graduated from the University of Pavia (Italy) and holds a European Master EUREC specializing in renewable energies. As a Renewable Energy researcher, she first develops wind, photovoltaic and hydraulic power projects for the Norwegian research institute Teknova. As a project engineer, she participates in the activities of “La Maison Passive” network dedicated to very high energy performance buildings, where she develops training courses for building owners and construction companies.

She also contributes to the EuroPHit European project whose objective is the large-scale deployment of innovative solutions for renovation in the residential and tertiary sector. At the French Environment and Energy Management Agency, she leads R&D projects in the field of industrial ecology and thermal comfort in tropical climate. As R&D coordinator for the Building Department, she is in charge of the 4th edition of the national call for projects “Towards responsible buildings by 2020”. In the field of smart grids, she joined Enedis in 2018 as Project Management Officer to help pilot the Nice Smart Valley demonstrator, part of the European Interflex program. Valentina Vologni joined Capenergies in 2019 as Flexgrid Project Manager.

Alessandro Araldi

Dr. Alessandro Araldi

Postdoctoral Researcher in Urban Analytics, ESPACE Research Lab, French National Centre for Scientific Research, Lecturer in the AI & Urban Analytics module

Alessandro graduated in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Politecnico di Milano (Italy) with a double master’s degree in Urban and Land Management and Planning from Politecnico di Milano (Italy), and Geography from Université Côte d’Azur (France). He received a Ph.D. in Geography that focused on urban geography (urban morphology and retail geography) at ESPACE Laboratory, Université Côte d’Azur (France). Alessandro collaborated on applied geography research projects in partnership with local stakeholders and private sectors, including the Local Chamber of Commerce and the private company Kinaxia-Septeo. 

He is currently working as a research fellow at the laboratory ESPACE, Université Côte d’Azur, funded by the Institute of Human and Social Science (InSHS) of the French National Research Center (CNRS). His current activities’ topics involve urban geographical systems, urban analytics, urban morphology, and retail geography.

Joan Perez

Dr Joan Perez

Postdoctoral Researcher in Urban Analytics, ESPACE Research Lab, French National Centre for Scientific Research, Lecturer in the AI & Urban Analytics module

Joan is a researcher holding a Ph.D. in Geography, with expertise in spatial analysis, urbanization, demographics, and urban form. Having worked at prestigious institutions such as The University of Tokyo and the French Institute of Pondichéry, Joan brings a wealth of experience to the field of quantitative geography. With a CIFRE Ph.D. completed in collaboration with Renault, he has explored the intricate relationship between urbanisation and socio-economic development in India, as well as the link between urban form and population decline in Japan. Specializing in advanced methodologies such as machine learning, AI backed data mining and GIS using R and Python languages, Joan’s contributions are shaping the research landscape of geography and spatial analysis. Currently, he is working at the ESPACE laboratory in Université Côte d’Azur.

Barbara-Buljat-Raymond

Dr. Barbara Buljat-Raymond

Researcher in Information Systems, GREDEG Lab, Université Côte d’Azur, Coordinator of the Innovation Management module

Barbara is a university lecturer, researcher, and practitioner specializing in Business Informatics and Digital Marketing. Her research interests primarily lie within the field of Information Systems (IS), with a specific focus on Green IS and environmental sustainability. She successfully defended her Ph.D. thesis, titled “The Potential of Augmented Reality for Tackling Environmental Sustainability Challenges: An Approach Combining Design Science and Behavioral Science,” in June 2023 at the Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS, as part of the GREDEG research laboratory.

Barbara’s scholarly contributions have been presented at prominent international conferences in the IS field, such as ICIS and ECIS, and published in reputable peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Behavioral Economics for Policy and Economic Review. Recognition for her Ph.D. project resulted in a scholarship from the Republic of France.

Over the past five years, Barbara has been actively involved in teaching courses related to Business Informatics, E-Business, and Digital Marketing at the University of Rijeka, Croatia. In addition to her academic endeavors, she extends her expertise to assist small companies, associations, and individuals in reaching their target audience. Her services encompass web development, digital marketing, communication design, and social media management.

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Pr Frédéric Precioso

Professor in Artificial Intelligence at Université Côte d’Azur
Co-coordinator of the A.I. and Urban Analytics module

Since 2011, Frederic Precioso is Professor at Université Côte d’Azur, lecturer at School of Engineering Polytech’Nice Sophia, member of the SPARKS (Scalable and Pervasive softwARe and Knowledge Systems) team of the I3S UMR 7271 CNRS-UNS laboratory.

He is member of Maasai, a Joint Research Project between INRIA-CNRS-UCA.

His main research interests are: Machine learning, Deep Learning, for many application domains.

Since September 2018, he is Scientific and Program Officer for the French National Research Agency (ANR) for State Investment Programmes Division and Digital Technology and Mathematics Dept.

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Pr Fabien Ferrero

Professor in Antennas at Université Côte d’Azur
Coordinator of the Connected City module

Fabien Ferrero received his PhD degree in electrical engineering in 2007 from the University Nice-Sophia Antipolis. From 2008 to 2009, he worked for IMRA Europe (Aisin Seiki research center) as a research engineer and developed automotive antennas. In 2010, he is recruited as Associate Professor at the Polytechnic School of the University Nice Sophia-Antipolis. Since 2018, he is full Professor at Université Côte d’Azur.

He conducts his research at the LEAT (Laboratory of Electronics, Antennas and Telecommunications). His research concerns the design and measurement of millimetric antennas, IoT systems and reconfigurable antennas.

Valerio SIGNORELLI

Dr. Valerio Signorelli

Lecturer in Connected Environments, Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London (UK)
Lecturer in the Connected City module

An Architect by training, Valerio is Lecturer in Connected Environments (Virtual) at CASA (University College London). He holds a M.Sc in Architecture and Urban Design (2009) and a Ph.D. in Territorial Design and Government (2013) from the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies (DAStU) at the Politecnico di Milano. His research profile, based on an interdisciplinary research approach between social sciences and the computer science domain, has been defined by the research conducted at the international research groups: Laboratorio di Simulazione Urbana ‘Fausto Curti’, at the Politecnico di Milano, Italy (2007-2013), and laboratory AAU (Ambiances Architectures Urbanités), research group CRENAU, at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Nantes, France (2014-2016). Valerio is member of the International Ambiances Network.

His research interests focus on sensory urbanism, specifically on the multisensory integration between visual and auditory modalities, and digital simulation tools for visualising urban data sets in their temporal, sensory and spatial peculiarities.

Aim of the research is to understand how tools and devices, developed in disciplines not directly linked with the urban studies, can be conceived as effective solutions able to describe, through experiential simulations and multimodal representations, the everyday users’ experiences in the urban atmospheres.

Franck Lavagna

Franck Lavagna

Director of local government partnerships, Orange
Lecturer in the Connected City module

Franck joined France Telecom in 1993 to serve as a Corporate Network Designer for France Telecom’s major clients. From 1997 to 2000, Franck became Western Regional Manager Services Support for France Telecom North America in San Francisco, California. His role was to help American multinational companies to develop their businesses in France and Europe. From 2000 to 2003, he became Head of Multimedia Marketing in the business segment for Mobistar, the second mobile operator in Belgium. During this assignment, he successfully launched the 2,5 mobile generation (GPRS), positioning Mobistar as the mobile pioneer in the Belgian market by offering horizontal services such as intranet access for laptop but also verticals application such as Machine to Machine (M2M) application.

From 2003 to 2008, he was within Orange Labs as Internet Of Things R&D Director. His main mission was to drive R&D Development policy within the context of the Internet of Things which includes M2M, RFID, Ubiquitous networks and specific offers dedicated to segments such as smart and connected city, e-health, security or logistics. His main goal was to successfully help Orange business unit to launch innovative services in both the business and residential market. Today, he acts as Deputy Regional Director in charge of French Riviera Local Authorities. As such, he is the group’s ambassador to explain and present the group strategy and to foster innovation especially in the smart and safe city area.

Franck graduated from “Télécom Paris” and also holds a Master in Business Administration from the University of Aix-en-Provence (IAE) combined with York University (Canada).

Mehdi NAFKA

Mehdi Nafkha

Data Scientist, IMREDD, Université Côte d’Azur
Lecturer in the Connected City module

Mehdi Nafkha is a Smart Cities and Traffic Management Engineer with two Masters degrees from Université Côte d’Azur in France and the University of Sousse and University of Monastir in Tunisia. Currently working as a Data Scientist at IMREDD – University Côte d’Azur, focusing on projects around autonomous shuttles and green mobility data models. His research interests include intelligent traffic management systems and noise pollution modulation and simulation.

Nicolas Delcey

Nicolas Delcey

Project Management Expert and Trainer
Coordinator of the Hands-on Integrated Project module

Nicolas initially worked for 10 years in the automotive industry (Valeo, PSA – Stellantis Group, Toyota) as an industrial production engineer: processes improvement, management of a small team of technicians responsible for projects, and overseeing projects for the implementation of production cost management tools. He then switched to the trainer profession to express the passion for learning and knowledge transfer. At a small training organization with unique and engaging methods, he learned to create and deliver impactful and stimulating training modules. Later on, he joined the Ademe (Agency for Ecological Transition) to co-pilot projects aimed at reducing the GHG emissions of freight transportation at the national level (Objectif CO2 – EVE program, Chartes de logistique urbaine). Since 2013, Nicolas has been creating and delivering training programs primarily focused on process improvement, project management, personal effectiveness, and management.