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Maurizio Massaro
Business Administration

Let’s talk about you: what is your background, what do you teach, and what are your research interests?
My name is Maurizio Massaro, I have a PhD in Business Science. Before coming to Ca' Foscari in 2018 I taught at the University of Udine and spent several periods as a visiting professor in the United States at Florida Gulf Coast University and in the UK at Leicester University. Before starting my experience as a university researcher I was a consultant and freelancer dealing with performance measurement. I am currently Associate Professor of Business Administration and my research mainly covers intangible assets, intellectual capital and research methodology. At Ca' Foscari I teach both at the San Giobbe campus and at the Digital Management programme in partnership with H-Farm.

What do teaching and researching mean to you?
I don't think there is a better job than this. It is a highly creative activity, which gives me the chance to participate in very different research groups, both in cultural and competitive environments. As I work on knowledge, my research area crosses many areas. By participating in different research teams I have worked on SMEs, large enterprises and the public sector. I have worked while studying the manufacturing, sports and entertainment, tourism and now the healthcare industries. I have always tried to bring my experiences into the classroom.

Can you give us an example of the impact of your research?
A few years ago I started participating in a project involving 15 universities worldwide called Most Innovative Knowledge Enterprise (MIKE). The project involves both training and in-house research activities. I remember I had a tour that involved lectures for a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) at Hong Kong PolyU on Industry 4.0 and Intellectual Capital. Registration had to be done on site. Since I had classes for my courses in Italy at the same time, I went to Hong Kong, gave the lecture, slept and returned to Italy the next day. All this took 36 hours, 20 of which were spent flying. What a grind! It's unbelievable if we think of today's online classes. The reward is that one year after its completion the course as a whole had more than 71,000 participants. I still get messages on Linkedin from people who have seen it.

What has given you the greatest satisfaction in your career?
As with any job, I think personal recognition is always important. In our case, awards, accepted publications, invitations to conferences. But if you do this job, you can see the effects of what you do on others. I meet students from my early years of teaching who are now established professionals. I remember teaching a course for public bodies a few years ago. Two women in their thirties approached me and said they were thinking of going to university and asked for advice. Today they are both graduates and have had career advancements thanks to their qualifications. I think this is a great satisfaction because it makes us realise how important what we do is.

Which degree programme would you recommend to a young graduate, and why?
Firstly, I would tell a young person that a degree today is not a finishing line, but a starting point. We live in a turbulent time in which lifelong learning is an obligation, not an option. That said, I'll make a simple answer to the question of which degree programme to choose: one that you like. Precisely because today a degree is a starting point and not a destination, the best advice is to approach a subject that fascinates you, since you will have to continuously explore and update it.

Last update: 27/02/2024