Francesco Grillo is Advisor to the Minister for Education, University and Research with a focus on smart cities and innovation. He is Managing Director of Vision & Value, a consulting firm with projects for multinationals and public institutions, including the European Commission. He is an academic visitor at St Antony's College, University of Oxford, an affiliate professor at the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna of Pisa and an expert on regional smart specialization strategies for DG Regio. He has a degree in economics (LUISS), an MBA (Boston University) and a PhD in political economy (London School of Economics).