DrLuca Pistilli

My teaching is grounded in a participatory, inductive, and practice-oriented approach. I see my role as guiding students from concrete business problems toward broader conceptual and theoretical understanding. Rather than presenting theory as an abstract starting point, I often begin with real cases, managerial dilemmas, entrepreneurial challenges, or current examples of technological and organisational change. This allows students to first engage with the complexity of practice and then work collectively toward the frameworks that help explain, structure, and address that complexity. In my experience, this approach increases motivation and helps students retain not only the content of a theory, but also why it matters and how it can be used.

I teach across MBA, MSc, undergraduate, and international programmes. My teaching portfolio from 2019 includes modules such as Digital Strategy & Transformation on the MBA, the International Consulting Project, Business Research Insights for MSc CEMS MIM students, New Venture Creation & Development, Business and Social Enterprise, Technology Management & Innovation, and Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Across these modules, I place strong emphasis on active learning, case discussion, applied analysis, group work, and the translation of academic ideas into managerial judgement.

My teaching interests reflect the main themes of my research and professional engagement: strategy, innovation, entrepreneurship, digital transformation, technology management, organisational adaptation, responsible business, and social enterprise. I aim to help students understand how organisations respond to disruption, how entrepreneurs develop and scale new ventures, how technologies reshape competitive dynamics, and how managers can make decisions under uncertainty. I also seek to develop students’ capacity to think critically, communicate clearly, work collaboratively, and apply analytical frameworks to complex organisational problems.

My commitment to high-quality teaching has been recognised through the UCD College of Business Teaching Award for 2021/2022 and my inclusion in the Dean’s List of Outstanding Teachers for 2020/2021. Before joining UCD, I taught strategy, technology innovation, global management, CSR, and business ethics at Bocconi University, and I also delivered executive-level teaching for Telefónica’s managerial training programmes. These experiences have shaped my commitment to teaching that is intellectually rigorous, internationally oriented, and closely connected to managerial practice.