Mariangela Lavanga (EUR)
Mariangela Lavanga is a Senior Assistant Professor in Cultural Economics at the Erasmus University Rotterdam. She is the Academic Coordinator of the Master in Cultural Economics and Entrepreneurship, Co-founder and coordinator of the Minor Fashion Industry, and Co-lead, project manager, researcher and lecturer in the Erasmus+ project RE-FRAME FASHION. Mariangela combines insights from cultural economics and economic geography; from addressing the role of cultural industries in sustainable urban development to zooming in on fashion and design industries. In particular, she looks at the fashion industry as a creative industry to: a) understand locational choices, local and global networks and labour market of entrepreneurs, b) unravel processes of value-creation, in particular linked to sustainability and circular economy, c) delve into the role of intermediaries, temporary clusters and face-to-face interaction in the markets for creative goods and services. The results of many of the projects she contributes to are used in policy making strategies by local governments, national governments or stakeholders across Europe. Mariangela has an extensive teaching and supervision portfolio (+/- 40 courses taught; +/- 8 new or restructured courses; +/- 80 Master and Bachelor theses supervised) and is a pioneer in innovative education, especially linked to sustainability, circular economy, fashion and design, and direct involvement of stakeholders in class. In parallel, she is a sought-after speaker and expert in many events outside academia. Recently, she co-founded Culture.Fashion, an open, value-driven network in the field of fashion and textile supported by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW).