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Gaia Bertarelli

Gaia Bertarelli

Social Statistics

Let’s talk about you: what is your background, what do you teach, and what are your research interests?
My name is Gaia Bertarelli, I am a tenure track researcher in Social Statistics at the Department of Economics. I teach methods for quantitative research in Social Sciences and Marketing, i.e. how to use statistics to understand the mechanisms that regulate some social phenomena and to support decision-making processes. My research concerns health inequalities, multidimensional poverty and Official Statistics. I am interested in the study of local phenomena and in the application of Small Area Estimation methods. I like to develop new models when the data requires it. Recently, I have approached methodological problems related to the integration of data from multiple sources and the use of non-traditional data in a prediction framework.

Tell us about your academic path
After a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics and a Master's Degree in Biostatistics, I worked outside the academy for a few years in several clinical research institutes. Then, I realized that I missed studying and I therefore started on a doctoral course in Methodological Statistics. I obtained my Ph.D. at the University of Milano-Bicocca in December 2015. I was then a research fellow at the University of Perugia and University of Pisa, and non-tenure track researcher at the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies. I deepened my training and collaborations thanks to two visiting experiences in Barcelona and Warsaw and by participating in several European projects. I also work or have worked as a statistical expert for ISTAT, FAO and the NGO Save the Children.

What has given you the greatest satisfaction in your career?
I strongly believe in the power of data and that statistics must be made available to society to help citizens to live better in the places where they really want to live, and therefore support governments and political decision-makers in their choices. For this reason, I felt useful when some projects in which I was involved concretely helped the choices of governments through, for example, parliamentary commissions. For the same reasons, I consider my collaboration with FAO for the introduction of new methodologies for Official Statistics and the collection of information in some countries in Africa, Asia and South America a stimulating and important experience.

What do studying and researching mean to you?
I think that today teaching and doing research is a privilege. Teaching allows us to help students achieve the goals they have set for themselves, or to find the path that best suits their aptitudes, providing tools and helping them to think about the reality that surrounds them and to develop their own independent and aware opinion. Also, I believe that students can often provide stimuli and ideas themselves without always being really aware of it. Research means never abandoning your curiosity, trying to keep an always active and above all open mind, at work and in everyday life. Understanding how things work, understanding what you are really immersed in, is a great fortune.