I am proud to share a milestone that means a great deal to me: I have achieved the Abilitazione Scientifica Nazionale (ASN), the Italian National Scientific Qualification as Associate Professor.
The qualification was awarded in the 2023/2025 call (Ministerial Decree n. 1796/2023) for the disciplinary field 13/D3 – Demography and Social Statistics, within the Academic Recruitment Field 13/D – Statistics and Mathematical Methods for Decisions. It is valid until 12 June 2038.
What the ASN is
In the Italian higher education system, the ASN is the national assessment that certifies the scientific maturity required to take up the role of associate professor. Candidates are evaluated by a national committee against quantitative bibliometric thresholds and a qualitative assessment of their scientific profile, including publications, research impact, and their overall contribution to the discipline.
It is the prerequisite that makes one eligible for associate professorships across the country. But it is also, quite simply, a recognition that the work of the past years holds up to national scrutiny.
A shared achievement
Reaching this point has never been a solitary effort. It rests on the research group I have grown up in, on the co-authors who have challenged and improved every idea, on the students and participants who have made teaching and dissemination genuinely rewarding, and on the mentors who invested time in me long before any of this was on the horizon. My sincere thanks go to all of them.
Onwards, with the same curiosity and the same care for methodological rigour that brought me here.