Luca is a Professor of Urban Innovation at Edinburgh Napier University’s Business School, where he leads both the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Subject Group and the Urban Innovation Policy Lab. This research lab hosts over 25 academics whose expertise connects social sciences with engineering and technology disciplines. Additionally, Luca holds the position of Professor of Urban Innovation at Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), where he supports the development of the FinEst Centre for Smart Cities, a €32 million investment through the European Commission’s Horizon Europe program. With 15 years of experience in conducting multidisciplinary research that bridges urban studies, computer science, and innovation management, Luca has been introducing new theoretical and practical advancements in the field of smart city development. His scholarly work has been widely published in prestigious journals, including Organization Studies, Regional Studies, Public Administration Review, Information System Journal, Technovation, Government Information Quarterly, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, and Cities. Luca has been serving as an academic consultant for several intergovernmental organizations such as the European Commission, the United Nations, and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean. In this capacity, he authored three major United Nations reports on digital transformation governance in urban areas. Luca's efforts have contributed to generating over €43 million through research and consultancy projects, predominantly supported by European funding schemes. In addition to his research and consulting work, Luca is an active member of the editorial board for the Journal of Urban Technology and serves as Executive Editor for Technological Forecasting and Social Change. He has also been a guest editor for seven Special Issues on smart city development in notable academic journals.Mark Deakin is Professor of Built Environment in the School of Engineering and Head of the Centre for Smart Cities at Edinburgh Napier University. He’s directed Smart Cities and urban sustainable development research projects for the European Commission and UK, is the author of 12 books on Smart Cities, Sustainable Urban Development, and Urban Technology Management, editor of seven special journal issues on smart and sustainable community management and development, is an expert advisor to the European Investment Bank on smart and sustainable city development, and an Editorial Board Member of six academic journals, including Elsevier’s Journal of Sustainable Cities and Society.
