Biography
Martina Ferracane is passionate about policymaking and technological innovation. She is an Associate Professor of International Digital Trade at the School of Computing, Engineering & Digital Technologies at Teesside University. Martina is also a part-time Assistant Professor at the Robert Schuman Center for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute, where she leads the Digital Trade Integration project, a CIVICA and Horizon 2020-funded research project.
Martina's research focuses on the regulatory issues connected to digital trade and data flows. Moreover, she is more broadly interested in digital transformation and ran a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to assess the impact of digital fabrication classes on students' skills and interest in STEM subjects.
During her Ph.D. in Law & Economics at Hamburg University, she assessed restrictions on data flows from a trade policy perspective. In addition, she received a postdoc scholarship from Hamburg University to investigate the topic of creative pedagogy in the digital era. She then joined the European University Institute as a Max Weber Fellow and then a Research Fellow to continue her research on digital trade policy. In her academic career, she has been affiliated with the School of Transnational Governance of the European University Institute (Policy Leaders Fellow), the School of International and Public Affairs of Columbia University (Cyber Policy Fellow) and the California International Law Center (Research Fellow).
Martina founded and currently manages FabLab Western Sicily, a non-profit organisation which brings digital fabrication to Sicilian kids, and she was listed in Forbes 30 Under 30 for her work with Oral3D, a start-up in 3D printing and dentistry. For her work in these areas, she was listed in 2018 among the 15 most influential Italian women on digital issues. She is a Research Associate at the Brussels-based think-tank ECIPE, and she acts regularly as a consultant for several institutions, including the United Nations, the European Commission, the World Economic Forum, and the World Bank.
Expertise for Teaching
Martina has offered seminars and short courses in different universities and institutions on digital trade, data flows and creative digital education. She has also taught a 6-week online course on digital trade with attendees from over 80 countries.