Antonio Luca Riso, from Theory to Practice

At the Legal Service of the European Central Bank he was given the task to build relationships with academics because of his PhD in International Law and Economics at the Bocconi University. Antonio Luca Riso still works at the ECB as a principal in the Division Supervisory Policies. "I'm not a researcher anymore", he says, "and yet my PhD is useful. At the Bocconi University there were many solicitations, ideas, seminars, and meetings. I've learned at least two important things. The first is to think out of the box, to look for non-obvious solutions. The second is to connect different knowledge areas that otherwise would not communicate with each other".

After the diploma in Legal Practice and after completing the apprenticeship, Riso was working on his Phd dissertation in "Crisis Management and Resolution in the Banking Union" when he moved to Frankfurt. "I was offered the chance to put in practice what I've had studied as a researcher: while authoring a thesis on the banking crisis I went to work at the European supervision institution, contributing to the new regulatory framework. I'd like to have a more organic relationship with the academic work, and therefore I'm still writing scientific articles, although rarely. My PhD has provided me with a method of research, it has taught me the way to take a stand in a scientific debate". His only regret is having left Milan before completing his doctorate studies. "It was one of the most formative experiences I ever had. But, as the saying goes, the ECB made me an offer I could not refuse".