Pedro Santoro Zambon

Dr. Pedro Santoro Zambon serves as a Researcher at Utrecht University's Faculty of Science within the Department of Software Technology for Learning and Teaching, where he leads the Collaborative Technologies Lab's GameDevUp project under a prestigious Marie Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship. Concurrently, he holds the position of Vice Chairman for the Game Incubation Special Interest Group at the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), bridging academic research with industry practice.

His academic credentials include a Ph.D. in Communication from São Paulo State University (UNESP) and specialized training in Evidence-Based Public Policy at the University of Oxford's Blavatnik School of Government. This foundation supports his dual expertise in game development methodologies and policy analysis.

Zambon's research centers on human-centered artificial intelligence applications for game developers, with particular emphasis on cultural policy frameworks and innovation ecosystems. His work examines how algorithmic matchmaking systems can optimize team collaboration while analyzing policy implementation challenges in creative industries, especially within Brazil's rapidly evolving digital games sector. Methodologically, he combines qualitative field research with quantitative industry census data to evaluate policy effectiveness.

Analysis of his 15 most recent publications reveals consistent thematic focus on Brazilian game industry policy evolution, independent developer challenges, and pandemic impacts. His work demonstrates methodological rigor in policy evaluation while highlighting sector-specific innovation patterns, particularly regarding university-industry knowledge transfer and creative cluster development.

• Marie Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (GameDevUp project)
• Civil Society Representative, Brazilian National Council for Cultural Policies (2019-2022)
• Chair, Industry Track of Brazilian Games Symposium (2016-2020)

Zambon maintains active advisory roles including Game Jam Plus coordination since 2021 and previously served as Market Intelligence Consultant for Brazil's Game Developers Association (Abragames, 2019-2020). His grant portfolio features commissioned research for WIPO, Procolombia, Sebrae, and the Brazilian Ministry of Culture, with current funding from the European Commission's Marie Curie program supporting his algorithmic collaboration research.

He actively contributes to the Collaborative Technologies Lab at Utrecht University while expanding international networks through IGDA's Game Incubation SIG, fostering cross-border knowledge exchange between European and Latin American game development communities.