JSPS Alumni Association Italy
Governance

The Board of the Italian JSPS Alumni Association

The Board guides the activities of the Association, represents it before institutional partners and oversees the annual program of symposia, fellowship support and outreach.

Executive Officers

Presidency & Secretariat

Officers are elected by the General Assembly for a three-year mandate, renewable once.

Prof. Giorgio Fabio Colombo
President

Prof. Giorgio Fabio Colombo

University of Venice "Cà Foscari"
JSPS Fellowship
JSPS Fellow
Host institution
Nagoya University
Research field
Comparative Law

Giorgio Fabio Colombo is Professor of Comparative Law, Ca' Foscari University Venice, where he oversees the programs in Japanese Law. He is currently the Secretary-General of the Italian Association of Japanese Studies (AISTUGIA), and the Director of Ca’ Foscari International College. Giorgio was previously Professor of Law at Nagoya University Graduate School of Law. He taught and conducted research in France (Paris I Sorbonne), Italy (University of Pavia), Japan (Ritsumeikan), and Sweden (Uppsala). Admitted to the Bar of Milan (Italy), Giorgio is an expert of international arbitration and served as advisor and technical expert for capacity building programs in arbitration in Lao PDR, Pakistan, Thailand.

Prof. Stefania Bandini
Vice-President

Prof. Stefania Bandini

University of Milano-Bicocca
JSPS Fellowship
JSPS Fellow
Host institution
The University of Tokyo
Research field
Artificial Intelligence

Stefania Bandini is Full Professor of Computer Science at the University of Milano-Bicocca, where she leads the Artificial Intelligence Lab. Her research focuses on artificial intelligence, agent-based modeling and simulation of complex systems as collective intelligence. She has led numerous national and international research projects as Principal Investigator and collaborated extensively with The University of Tokyo’s RCAST and the School of Engineering (Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics), also serving as a JSPS Fellow. She is delegate for Internationalization for Japan and for ISEAS (Italian School of East Asian Studies, Kyoto).

Dr. Paola Cavaliere
Secretary

Dr. Paola Cavaliere

University of Milan
JSPS Fellowship
Postdoctoral Fellowship (2012–2013)
Host institution
Tohoku University
Research field
Disaster & Religion Studies

Paola Cavaliere is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Milan, where she conducts and coordinates research and teaching in the interdisciplinary fields of gender, religion, and disaster studies in Japan. She holds a double PhD in East Asian Studies from the University of Sheffield and in Law from Tohoku University. She is the author of Promising Practices: Women Volunteers in Contemporary Japanese Religious Civil Society (Brill, 2015) and co-editor of the Handbook of Disaster Studies in Japan (Routledge, 2026). She has been the recipient of a JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship (2012–2013) and two consecutive JSPS Kakenhi research grants (2015–2024).

Prof. Roberto Li Voti
Board Member

Prof. Roberto Li Voti

University of Rome "La Sapienza"
JSPS Fellowship
JSPS Fellow
Host institution
Hokkaido University
Research field
Physics

Roberto Li Voti is Full Professor of Physics at Sapienza University of Rome, where he currently serves as Head of Department of Basic and Applied Science for Engineering. He is Director of the Master in Optics and Quantum Information, and Director of the biennual Courses of Photoacoustic and Photothermal Techniques at Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture in Erice (ISQE at EMFCSC). He is in the board of the International Photoacoustic and Photothermal Association (IPPA) and served as specially appointed Professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. He has active collaborations with Hokkaido University, where he received his first JSPS fellowship, and with the Institute of Science Tokyo.

Prof. Stefania Michelucci
Board Member

Prof. Stefania Michelucci

University of Genoa
JSPS Fellowship
Fellowship (2014) · Bridge (2024)
Host institution
Various Institutions
Research field
English Studies & World Literature

Stefania Michelucci is Full Professor of English Studies and World Literature at the University of Genoa, Italy. She has written extensively on 19th and 20th century authors from an interdisciplinary perspective, with particular attention to the relationship between literature and the visual arts. She has been Visiting Scholar and has lectured in many universities across the world, including UC Berkeley and UC Davis (USA), Kyoto Tachibana, Keio and Konan University (Japan), NUAA (China), UFRJ (Brazil) and the University of Zululand (South Africa). She was granted a JSPS Fellowship in 2014 and a JSPS Bridge Fellowship in 2024. For her complete CV and list of publications, see stefaniamichelucci.com. She is currently editing a volume on Contemporary Anglo-American Poetry (Thom Gunn: A Prismatic Portrait) for Edinburgh University Press, with interviews, memoirs and unpublished material from the archives.

Council Members

Digital Communication Managers

Dr. Alessio De Pellegrin
Digital Communication Manager

Alessio De Pellegrin

University of Milano-Bicocca
PhD Candidate
Dr. Luca Borrè
Digital Communication Manager

Luca Borrè

University of Milano-Bicocca
Research Fellow
Get in Touch

Contact the Board.

For questions about membership, fellowship guidance or institutional collaboration, write to the Board secretariat.

alumnijspsit@gmail.com Become a Member
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