Mrs. Francesca Vecchi | Energy and Sustainability | Best Researcher Award

Francesca Vecchi holds a PhD in Sustainability Engineering and Safety in Civil and Industrial Buildings from Politecnico di Bari, conducted in collaboration with Concordia University in Montreal, where her research focuses on integrating renewable energy communities into urban contexts. She earned a Master’s degree in Planning for the Global Urban Agenda from Politecnico di Torino, an international program aligned with the United Nations’ New Urban Agenda, complemented by her participation in the Alta Scuola Politecnica, a prestigious multidisciplinary program jointly run by Politecnico di Milano and Politecnico di Torino. She also completed a Bachelor’s degree in Urban, Territorial and Landscape-Environmental Planning from Politecnico di Torino, enriched by an Erasmus semester at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom. Her educational path began with a High School Diploma in languages from Liceo Scientifico Manfredo Fanti, which included a cultural exchange experience at Burlingame High School in San Francisco, USA.

Professional Experience

Francesca Vecchi has gained extensive professional and research experience across academic, international, and project-based environments. At Politecnico di Bari, she has been actively engaged in research on renewable energy communities, energy network management, and the integration of renewables in urban and coastal cities. As a visiting scholar at Concordia University in Montreal, she contributed to projects such as ICELL and S2E, developing energy remuneration and sharing policies, simulating energy communities, and integrating occupancy profiles into urban energy modelling tools. She also worked on demographic scenario simulations for Montreal districts, assessing both energy and financial impacts. Earlier, as a visiting scholar at Toronto Metropolitan University, she developed her master’s thesis on urban building energy modelling and solar assessment. Additionally, she served as a learning support teacher at Politecnico di Torino, assisting students with general learning needs. Her professional journey reflects a consistent commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration, technical innovation, and the advancement of sustainable urban energy systems.

Research Interest