Salvatore Ruggiero

Salvatore Ruggiero is Associate Professor and Head of Education in the Department of Social Sciences at the School of Engineering Science, LUT University. He also holds the title of Docent (Adjunct Professor) in Sustainable Entrepreneurship at the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki.

His research sits at the intersection of social innovation, business renewal, and sustainability transitions. Much of his work concerns the energy transition and, in particular, the role of active citizenship and public participation in socio-technical change. He has examined energy prosumerism, community-based renewable energy generation, the social acceptability of renewable energy technologies and infrastructures, and energy justice. His current research investigates the emerging phenomenon of energy communities in Europe, with the aim of understanding how these hybrid organisations can contribute to a post-growth society.

Ruggiero is a co-investigator in the Phoenix (Pathways out of Energy Crises towards a Resilient and Just Energy System) project, funded by the Strategic Research Council (SRC) of Finland and led by LUT University. He investigates solutions for fostering energy justice and resilience in local energy systems. 

He has held positions as a visiting scholar at the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT) in Vienna and as a visiting professor at the Department of Management, Economics, and Industrial Engineering (DIG) at Politecnico di Milano. He earned his PhD from the University of Jyväskylä. Prior to joining LUT, he was based at the Aalto University School of Business and at the Centre for Consumer Society Research, University of Helsinki.

Teaching:

• Transition Studies and Innovation Policy, 5 ECTS
• Renewable Energy Policy, 5 ECTS