Antonella is a doctoral student at the University of Milano-Bicocca, currently enrolled in the Business for Society programme. This interdisciplinary course emphasises strategic management, innovation, and social responsibility.

She holds a bachelor's degree in Sociology and a master's degree in Management and Service Design, both from the University of Milano-Bicocca. During her academic journey, she gained six years of experience at a multinational market research and consulting firm, where she conducted research and interviews for statistical surveys on labor market and consumer issues.

Her doctoral thesis explores various facets of social innovation, with a particular focus on bottom-up activities and multi-actor collaborative approaches from a place-based perspective. As a qualitative researcher in social sciences, her interests include transformative social innovation, community cooperatives, and citizen participation in the public sector.

Antonella also collaborates with the Urban Innovation Policy Lab of Edinburgh Napier University, contributing to research projects on place-based perspectives and initiatives for people-centered smart cities.