Paola Di Giuseppantonio Di Franco

I am a UKRI Future Leaders Fellow, Round 6, currently held through the University of Essex, and Associate Professor of Heritage in the Department of Geography at Durham University. I am also an Honorary Senior Lecturer at Essex, where I worked from 2018 to 2026. During my time there, I had the invaluable opportunity to establish undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD programmes in heritage and to serve as Director of the MA in Heritage and Museum Studies.

My research explores the intersection of material culture, heritage, and cognitive science, with a focus on the impact of new technologies on heritage-making and interpretation of past processes.

My 1.5M UKRI FLF project, titled "REbuilding a sense of PLACE (REPLACE): The socio-cultural role of 3D technologies in increasing community resilience after disasters" aims to enhance community resilience following natural catastrophes by investigating the socio-cultural potential of 3D technologies in rebuilding a sense of place. This research enables communities to prepare for, respond to, recover from, mitigate the effects of, and adapt to natural catastrophes.

In addition to my UKRI FLF, I have previously held a Marie Skłodowska Curie fellowship at the University of Cambridge and an Eastern ARC fellowship. These prestigious grants have facilitated the development of two additional research strands.

The first strand examines the role of 3D digital and printed replicas of artefacts, as well as digital soundscapes, in enriching the processes of meaning-making and interaction with historical material culture within museum settings. Specifically, I explore how 3D virtual and material replicas, along with object-based soundscapes, can redefine authenticity and enhance more immersive and emotionally impactful museum displays. Notable projects within this strand include "DIGIFACTS" and "Neurocuration".

The second strand focuses on collaborative initiatives with small and medium enterprises as well as educators, with the goal of leveraging novel pedagogies and 3D technologies to enhance young people's critical engagement with the complexity of their heritage in conflict-affected countries. For instance, I co-developed the "Ksar Said: A Virtual Experience" project in Tunis, supported by the British Council Cultural Protection Fund. This collaboration involved the University of Cambridge's Faculty of Education (Co-I), the Virtual Experience company (PI), and the Rambourg Foundation (Partner).