Tiziana Pirola

Bachelor's degree in Sociology - Master's degree in Analysis of Social Processes, University of Milan Bicocca

Born in 1995, I have a bachelor's degree in Sociology and a master's degree in Social Process Analysis. Currently, I hold the position of coordinator at the Leonardo Adda Ecomuseum, where I work on cultural enhancement of the territory with the aim of supporting tourism development, strengthening the sense of belonging of communities to the territory, and nurturing the construction of a territorial identity. I attended the "Giordano Bruno" scientific high school in Cassano d'Adda and during my teenage years, I developed a strong awareness of the social and environmental issues affecting both the planet and our country. Convinced of the need for evidence-based policies to address problems with knowledge and develop valid solutions, I enrolled in the Sociology program at Bicocca, where I found my dimension and had the opportunity to deepen my research areas and methodological tools of social sciences.

At the same time, I started my civic engagement in my community with the Pro Loco of my town, Cornate d’Adda: here I discovered the complex and challenging world of associations that seek to promote tourism and cultural policies in a territory that has a lot to offer in terms of history, nature, and beauty, but is in a context that does not support these efforts.

I graduated in March 2018 with a score of 110 cum laude and a thesis on ideological and pseudoscientific constructs that hinder the correct understanding and contrast to domestic violence, under the supervision of Professor Carmen Leccardi. I was thus torn between two worlds when deciding whether to continue my studies with a master's degree and I chose to take some time to reflect on my future. In the meantime, I enrolled in the training course "Gender, politics and institutions" to enhance my knowledge of gender issues, already part of my background both for personal insights and because they are addressed in various aspects of my studies. Therefore, when the opportunity arose for a research grant for a project on the aspirations for the future of girls and boys, I participated and won.

The project - coordinated by Professor Carmen Leccardi and Professor Sveva Magaraggia - gave me the opportunity to get in touch with the practice of social research and convinced me that it was the right direction for me: so I enrolled in Social Processes Analysis in 2019. In the summer of 2020, I was offered the role of coordinator of the Leonardo's Adda Ecomuseum, which I held until the beginning of 2024.

I also participated in the call for tutors for first-year students in Sociology for the academic year 2020/2021, convinced of the need to give back and make visible the opportunities offered by the University to students. I obtained a Master's degree in Social Process Analysis in March 2022 with a score of 110 cum laude, with the thesis "Gamer/girls. The conditional citizenship of women in the video game field", supervisor Prof. Andrea Cerroni, co-supervisor Dr. Roberto Carradore, which won the Italian Videogame Program 2022 Award for the best thesis on video game topics (https://ivipro.it/it/esiti-bando-2022/).

Between May 2022 and May 2023, I was engaged in Civil Service with the project "Culture Common Good" developed by ANCI and implemented in the culture and tourism office of my city, Cornate d'Adda. Currently, I am pursuing a Ph.D. in Analysis of Social and Economic Processes at the University of Milan-Bicocca.