Dr. Sébastien de Valeriola

The stages of my career draw two major trends, a direct corollary of my double passion for the exact sciences on the one hand, and for the humanities on the other.

The first trend guided the beginning of my academic and professional itinerary. After a degree and a PhD in mathematics dealing with very abstract mathematical questions, I felt the need to move towards more applied issues. The completion of a degree in actuarial sciences has led me to become interested in questions linked to the world of insurance and banking. Once my six years as a teaching assistant at the university completed, I therefore started a consulting activity in the private sector (in financial mathematics, actuarial science, data science and programming). A post-doctoral contract then allowed me to return to research and teaching in the academic world. Afterwards I completely redirected my career in this direction, by teaching several courses as a substitute lecturer in universities, and then by becoming a teacher-researcher in a business school.

The second trend outlined by the stages of my career is based on the realization of my passions for more humanities-oriented subjects. After defending my PhD thesis in mathematics, I felt the need to embrace an intellectual approach that was both reflective and critical. So I devoted my free time to the realization of a degree in history. The pleasure I got from the redaction of my master thesis and research work in this field naturally led me to start a (second) PhD thesis in economic and social history of the Middle Ages. It is a joint PhD, under the supervision of Marc Boone (UGent), Jeroen Deploige (UGent) and Paul Bertrand (UCLouvain)