Roberta Comunian
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  • Writing
  • Bio
  • Research Projects
  • Beyond Academia
  • Talks
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Dr. Roberta Comunian is Reader in Creative Economy at the Department for Culture, Media and Creative Industries at King's College London. She was previously lecturer at the same institution between 2012 and 2017. 
She has previously held academic position at the University of Kent and at the University of Southampton and at the University of Leeds. She holds a European Doctorate title in Network Economy and Knowledge Management from the University of Venice Ca' Foscari (with a bursary from the Italian Ministry of Education). 
Early career:  She has in the past conducted research on the relationship between public and private investments in the arts, sponsorship and business investment in the arts as part of the MA thesis work entitled ("I percorsi dell’investimento delle imprese in cultura in Italia e nel Regno Unito" (translate: Pathways for Business Investment in the arts in Italy and UK), published in The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society and the Journal of Business Strategy  . 
PhD Research: Her PhD work looked at the overlapping dynamics of  art and cultural regeneration projects and cultural and creative industries development in the context of Newcastle-Gateshead in the North-East of England.  During her fieldwork she has been Marie Curie Fellow at University of Newcastle (Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies) investigating the relationship between creative industries, cultural policy and public supported art institutions. Her PhD work entitled: The role of networks within the creative economy: mapping and understanding the relationship between creative industries, the public supported cultural sector and the regional cultural policy in the North East of England. SSAV School of Advanced Studies Venice, Venice (IT) has resulted in a series of journal articles published by Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais, City, Culture and Society, Urban Studies,  Creative Industries Journal, Regional Studies and the Archivio di Studi Urbani e Regionali and two book chapters. 
Post-doc research:  She has also undertaken research on knowledge transfer and creative industries within an AHRC Impact Fellowship award  School of Performance and Cultural Industries, Faculty of Performance, Visual Arts and Communications, University of Leeds (UK). The findings of the project were published in European Planning Studies 
Recent Research: She has recently researched the role of higher education in the creative economy as part of a AHRC reseach network grant and has recently explored in various papers the career opportunities and patterns of creative graduates in UK in collaboration with Prof. Alessandra Faggian. Her most recent works have been published in Geoforum, Journal of Education and Work, International Journal of Cultural and Creative Industries, Cultural Trends, Regional Studies, Papers in Regional Science,  Annals of Regional Science and Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 
Current Research 
Dr Comunian is currently working on a research network grant "UNDERSTANDING AND SUPPORTING CREATIVE ECONOMIES IN AFRICA: EDUCATION, NETWORKS AND POLICY" supported by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) with Dr Brian Hracs at the University of Southampton. She also continuing her work on Creative Graduates, thanks to a ARC funded project in Austrialia, led by Dr Scott Brook. 
From 2019, Dr Roberta Comunian is involved in the new H2020 consortium DISCE (Developing Inclusive & Sustainable Creative Economies).


Career
​
Sept 2017 - now            Reader in Creative Economy, Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries, King's College London
Sept 2012 - August 2017 Lecturer in Creative and Cultural Industries, Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries, King's College London
Nov 2010 – July 2012         Creative Industries Research Associate, University of Kent
Jan 2010 – Oct 2010            Business Fellow as part of the University of Southampton Employer Engagement Initiative to undertake a research project on knowledge networks. Report available http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/176235/1/R_Comunian__Maritime_knowledge_and_business_engagement_networks.pdf
Jan 2008 – Jan 2010             Lecturer in Human Geography, School of Geography - University of Southampton; Two Year Fixed term contract. I have successfully completed and passed a two year probation period.
April 2006 – April 2008        Research Fellow - AHRC Impact Fellowships within the School of Performance and Cultural Industries, Faculty of Performance, Visual Arts and Communications, University of Leeds (UK)
Nov 2004 – July 2005          Marie Curie Fellowship – ARTURI (Advanced Research Training in University Regional Interaction) at University of Newcastle, CURDS Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies (CURDS), Newcastle upon Tyne (UK)

Education
Jan 2008 – July 2010           Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PCAP) Learning and Teaching Enhancement Unit, University of Southampton (UK)
Oct 2003 – Mar 2007          European PhD title in Network Economy and Knowledge Management with bursary from the Italian Ministry of Education. Title: The role of networks within the creative economy: mapping and understanding the relationship between creative industries, the public supported cultural sector and the regional cultural policy in the North East of England. SSAV School of Advanced Studies Venice, Venice (IT)
1997 – 2002                           Communication Studies Degree, Specialisation in Institutional and Business Communication, 110/110 cum laude - Thesis: Business investment in the arts in Italy and United Kingdom, University of Padova, Padova (IT)
1993–1997                             Arts & Humanities College (Liceo Classico) Final Grade 58/60 Liceo Classico Tito Livio, Padova (IT)

Awards & Prizes
March 2009, winner of 2nd prize (£500) International Essay Competition prize 2008 for the best essay on urban and regional themes by young authors organized by the Foundation for Urban and Regional Studies and International Journal of Urban and Regional Research;

February 2006 – February 2007, research on Economy of Contemporary Art Prize from the Agnelli Foundation in Turin. Winner of the prize (€ 12,000) with the project “Urban Contemporary Art Worlds: the networks of contemporary arts between public and private in the city of Berlin, Newcastle-Gateshead and Turin”. Presented with Christine Nippe;

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