Davide Giacomo Zoppolato
Academic Curriculum Vitae
Postdoctoral Research Scholar, Chinese Law
Columbia Law School — Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies, USA • 2026 - 2028
Supervisor: Prof. Benjamin L. Liebman
Research on Chinese law, state capitalism, and the legal architecture of cross-border capital
Global China Fellow
New York University (NYU) Shanghai, China • 2025 - 2026
Supervisor: Prof. Jing Qian
Project: 'Mapping Global China' — full-stack platform mapping China's global development footprint (6M+ multi-source records)
Directed a 12-person team across data engineering, geospatial analysis, and validation
Research Data Associate
AidData, William & Mary — Global Research Institute, USA • 2025 - 2026
Modeled Chinese overseas loan portfolios using statistical methods
Cross-country comparative analysis of loan terms, repayment risks, and sectoral distributions
Supported AidData flagship reports on Chinese development finance
ML Consultant
CGIAR / Alliance Bioversity–CIAT • 2024
Advised on climate finance strategy through advanced NLP and critical policy analysis
Built a custom 1,800+ term taxonomy and analyzed 3.8M+ words across 100+ official documents
Contributed insights to a 60-page report informing multilateral negotiations
Research Associate
Alternative Law Collective, Pakistan • 2023 - Present
Analyzed development and energy projects implemented in Pakistan
Built a dashboard analyzing 300,000+ procurement contracts to enhance transparency
Conducted fieldwork in Punjab, Sindh, and KPK; lead instructor for a GIS course across 6 partner NGOs
Full Stack GIS & Data Developer
WVU Center for Resilient Communities, USA • 2021 - 2025
2024: Lead the developmentof FoodLink https://foodlink-five.vercel.app/ designing the ETL pipeline, data automation workflows, and a responsive React front end to map food systems and support community-driven data contributions
2023: Developed learning modules on Shiny App (http://www.wvview.org/os_sa/ShinyApp_module.html), Social Media & Mapping
2021 and 2022: Lead recruitment and communication strategy for CRC's internship program (46 applicants) and organized Sustainable Development Goals event with 400+ attendees
Legal Consultant
ZPL-LEX, Law firm, Turin, Italy • 2017 - 2021
Conducted legal research on corporate law and drafted 50+ legal briefs
Successfully challenged over 250 traffic fines, and prepared ricorsi administrative court appeals involving public authority decisions on tenders
Managed 20+ trademark registrations and IP protection strategies for China
Main legal advisor for e-sharing mobility company (insurance compliance, battery regulations, contract drafting)
Research Associate & Project Manager
gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development, UK • 2016 - 2021
Research in Comparative, International, Public, and Chinese Law
Peer-reviewed papers for journal special issues and book series
Organized 3 summer schools in China and supervised 20+ interns
Directed website redesign and contributed to planning 10+ academic conferences
Visiting fellowships: Beijing University (2016), Beijing Normal University (2017), Beijing Foreign Studies University (2018-2019)
EU Commission Marie Curie Fellow Scholar
Beijing Normal University, China • 2016 - 2017
POREEN Project: Partnering Opportunities Between Europe and China in Renewable Energies
Fellowship in Beijing and lead workshop organization
Network included 9 academic institutions across Europe and China