1. Could you briefly introduce yourself and describe your research area?
I am an architect and a PhD holder, working in the field of conservation, documentation, and digital management of cultural heritage. My research integrates architectural representation, digital surveying, HBIM, and decision-support systems for the management of existing buildings and cultural heritage sites.
I have been a researcher and the international mobility delegate of the Department of Civil Engineering; I currently continue to collaborate on various research projects.
2. How did the contact with the partners involved in the collaboration begin? What role did NEOLAiA play in this process?
A colleague from the University of Jaén, Professor Manuel Jesús Hermoso Orzáez, contacted me after identifying my profile through the institutional page of UNISA and recognizing a strong alignment between our research areas. Similarly, a colleague from the University of Tours, Professor Mathilde Gralepois, reached out to a member of our Department thanks to the visibility provided by the NEOLAiA network and the possibility of identifying complementary expertise. The initial contact with Professor Giacomo Viccione subsequently also involved Professor Isidoro Fasolino.
NEOLAiA has played a key role, as it has created a framework that facilitates interaction between researchers from different universities, fostering the development of collaborations that would otherwise have been much more difficult to establish.
3. What initiative or project emerged from this collaboration?
From this initial contact, my collaboration began on the project Herramienta Digital para la Planificación, Seguimiento, Control y Gestión de Proyectos con MS-Project Adaptado a la Metodología PM² en la Unión Europea, developed within the pilot projects of the NEOTEACH innovative initiatives for knowledge dissemination within NEOLAiA. The colleagues from Jaén will come in September to test the project results here at UNISA.
Professor Mathilde Gralepois from the University of Tours carried out a visit to UNISA last February, and from that meeting new project opportunities have emerged. Among these is participation as a partner in a BIP coordinated by UNISA, entitled Reframing the Waterline, which will take place in the coming months.
4. What was the main added value of working with colleagues from other universities within the Alliance?
The most important added value is the sense of belonging to an international network. Knowing that you can rely on institutional support makes it much easier to turn an initial contact into a concrete collaboration. This enables the exploration of new ideas, the development of joint projects, and the implementation of initiatives that would be very difficult to realize without a framework such as NEOLAiA.
5. What advice would you give to a researcher who has not yet taken advantage of the opportunities offered by NEOLAiA?
My advice is to be proactive. Update your profile, map your skills on the NEOLAiA platform, and do not hesitate to reach out to colleagues at partner universities who work on topics related to yours. There are truly many opportunities, and the Alliance provides a concrete support system to turn a simple exchange of ideas into collaborations, projects, and international initiatives. It is worth seizing them: often, a first contact is all it takes to give rise to something much bigger.
