Career Paths Beyond Academia: Working in Government Institutions and European Organisations

This online roundtable explores career paths beyond academia where the research skills honed in scholarly work find valuable application, focusing on roles in non-academic research institutions that draw directly on an academic background. Chaired by Alice Mattoni (University of Bologna), the event brings together Veronica Lenzi (Regione Emilia-Romagna) and Giuseppe Abbamonte (European Commission).

Veronica Lenzi is the Head of the European Planning, International Cooperation and Strategic Project Management Unit at the STEP Directorate-General of the Emilia-Romagna Region, where she has been leading the Managing Authority for the Interreg IPA ADRION programme since 2023. She specialises in European cohesion policy, European territorial cooperation (ETC) and international development cooperation, with projects in Africa and the Western Balkans. Before joining the regional administration, she worked from 2013 to 2022 in the field of energy regulation (ARERA/MEDREG), coordinating a network of 27 regulatory authorities from 22 countries in the Euro-Mediterranean area. Alongside his institutional work, he teaches at the university level: he is a contract lecturer in Territorial Policies and Local Development at the University of Bologna. He holds a PhD in energy regulation and an Executive MBA in Public Management and Innovation.

Giuseppe Abbamonte is Director for Media Policy and Copyright at the European Commission's DG CNECT in Brussels, a role he has held since 2016. In this capacity, he has led major European policy initiatives, including the reform of EU copyright law, the Media Freedom Act, and the European strategy against online disinformation. Over more than three decades as a European civil servant, he has held senior roles across data policy, cybersecurity, consumer law, and competition law, working on landmark cases such as the AOL–Time Warner merger. Before joining the Commission, Abbamonte practised law in Milan and Brussels, specialising in antitrust and commercial law. He holds a law degree from the University of Bari and is a qualified member of the Italian Bar. He currently teaches European law as a Contract Professor at the University of Bologna and an Academic Fellow at Bocconi University, alongside lecturing at several universities in the UK.