Paolo is a Lecturer of Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Edinburgh Napier University. He holds a PhD in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Strategy from Newcastle Business School, where he also worked as Lecturer of Digital Entrepreneurship between 2018 and 2021.

Paolo’s research interests lie at the intersection between digital transformation, technology adoption and regional development with a focus on the governance of smart places, bottom-up approaches to innovation and the diffusion of digital technologies in rural and peripheral regions. His work has been presented at international conferences and published in top academic journals - such as Government Information Quarterly, World Development and Telecommunications Policy. In January 2019 he was among the recipients of the Young Scholar Programme of the Pacific Telecommunications Councils, an award for early-career researchers studying ICT markets and policies.

Prior to joining academia, Paolo worked as a regulatory analysist and policy advisor for both public and private organisations in the Italian ICT sector.