alumni
Eye on Alumni: Davide Viviano '17
“The support of the faculty and the life-long friendships with the other students made such an incredible experience. I was surrounded by very passionate people, which is one of the best things you can hope for.”
Davide Viviano ‘17 (Data Science) received a Ph.D. in Economics from UC San Diego. He is now doing research in Economics and Data Science, developing statistical methods for applications in social sciences, with a focus on policy design and causal inference.
What has been your academic and professional path before and after studying at the Barcelona School of Economics?
I joined BSE in 2016-2017 just after a Bachelor's degree in Economics at Luiss Guido Carli in Rome and after an experience of studies in statistics at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. After my Master's at BSE, I completed a PhD in Economics at UC San Diego, with a specialization in Econometrics. I received and accepted an offer to join the Department of Economics at Harvard as an Assistant Professor, which I will join after one year of post-doc at Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2022-2023.
How has the Data Science Master’s helped you in your career?
The Master's at BSE had a positive impact from an academic and personal perspective. I found the tools learned during the Master's very useful as a researcher and PhD student. It prepares you for both applied and theoretical-oriented research and gives you useful tools for both industry and academic research positions.
How did the Master’s prepare you for such different environments?
During this Master's, I learned how to speak the different languages of statisticians, computer scientists, and social scientists; I learned how to come up with original research questions, how to pursue ideas, and also how to make out of failures useful learning experiences.
Tell us about your research and other experiences you had.
My research combines Economics and Data Science to develop or justify statistical methods for applications in social sciences, with a focus on policy design and causal inference. During my PhD, I have also been a short-term visiting researcher at Facebook (Core Data Science), working on the design and analysis of experiments.
What imprint of the Master’s lingers with you, now that a number of years have passed since you finished it?
The support of the faculty and the life-long friendships with the other students made such an incredible experience. I was surrounded by very passionate people, which is one of the best things you can hope for. I realized that Data Science is not only a set of tools, but it is a new medium through which we can give an interpretation of our surrounding reality.
Connect with Davide Viviano on LinkedIn
Learn more about the Master's Program in Data Science Methodology