Roberta BernabeiView profile
Visiting Professor
Dr Roberta Bernabei is the Director of Doctoral Programmes at Loughborough University's School of Design and Creative Arts, with additional roles as External Examiner at the Royal College of Art's Jewellery & Metal department and Visiting Reader at Birmingham City University's Institute of Jewellery, Fashion, and Textiles. A Fellow of the Higher Education Academy since 2015, she co-founded the Journal of Jewellery Research and serves as Vice-President of the Italian Contemporary Jewellery Association (AGC). PhD in Jewellery Design from Loughborough University (thesis: 'Jewellery Theory and Practice: An investigation into emotionally invested and mnemonic jewellery through sensitising materials') BA(Hons) and MA in Jewellery Design Her research explores emotionally embedded artefacts and their impact on self-identity and well-being, blending digital fabrication (e.g., Rapid Prototyping) with traditional goldsmithing techniques. Recent projects include curating practice-based PhD outputs at the 2022 Florence Jewellery Week and co-leading the 'Craft Cultures' research cluster at BCU. Key publication themes span emotionally invested jewellery, memory studies, digital manufacturing, and design pedagogy. She advocates for the democratisation of authorship in digital jewellery production and investigates animation therapy's intersection with wearable objects. As Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Jewellery Research , she champions interdisciplinary collaboration across design, technology, and health. Her supervisory focus includes PhD candidates exploring craft, memory, and digital fabrication.










