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In Memory of Claudio Ciborra 1951 - 2005 |
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Tributes to Claudio Ciborra |
index to tributes
Page 11
Rafael Andreu
IESE Business School, Barcelona
Claudio was both inspiring and challenging. I had the opportunity
of working with him and writing together. It was always a truly enjoyable
experience –laughing, but rigorous; an open mind and a cheerful attitude.
His work is both relevant and pioneering in many aspects. His absence comes
as huge loss for our community, but at the same time it will challenge
us to keep high standards in creativity, friendship and sense of humour.
Thanks, Claudio, for your inspiration and deep
human outlook.
Bob Galliers
Bentley College, USA
I'm not sure whether Tennyson was to Claudio's liking - for him perhaps,
a more classical reference would be appropriate - but I've always liked
the following, and I hope Claudio would too:
This is the truth the poet sings.
That a sorrow's crown of sorrow is remembering happier things.
Locksley Hall, 1, 75
Claudio was always questioning 'truths'. A renaissance man ... multidimensional,
cultured, discriminating, critical and reflexive. His writings are alive and
will remain so - for us to treasure; for us to question his truths - for ourselves.
He would like that.
Marita Giglio
Italy
I remember a tall, lanky young lad, in Malta on a student study
holiday in 1973, his face slightly reddened by sun and a long tuft of hair
shadowing his cheerful
eyes. I
remember
an irresistible
fund of humor and sympathy, I remember tales about the old housekeeper
Adele that would make us laugh to tears, I remember him in a bunch of
young hopefuls, kidding all the time but also committed and he was certainly
the most promising one. I did feel a grip of sorrow when I read an obituary
with his name on a national newspaper; I couldn't believe...perhaps a
homonym? No, alas! It was you dear Claudio and a flood of memories runs
before my eyes and a painful regret for having lost contact with you.
"
Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."
Daniele Pica
Department of Information Systems, LSE
It is with great sadness that I pay my respects to Claudio Ciborra.
I met Claudio in 2000 as I embarked in my intellectual journey in Information
Systems. Claudio has been an indispensable figure throughout the years,
both for his writings, for his comments, and for his presence. Brilliant,
highly controversial, extremely reflective, witty, and at times moody,
Claudio has added "the spice" to the lives of many, to an entire
department and to a field of study that needs it. As such, his academic
and leadership skills have been invaluable to the people that surrounded
him as well as to the academic field. Although we have forever lost his
presence, as far as I am concerned, Claudio is still with us–making
a difference through his insightful writings and through the memories
we have of him. Thank you Claudio and rest in peace.
Savita Bailur
ADMIS 2001/2, Department of Information Systems, LSE
I will always remember you as one of our lecturers who could manage a whole
lecture without any notes at all - what a talent and what a mind. You will
always be respected and missed. May you rest in peace.
Enzo Spaltro
Bologna, Italia
What terrible news!
We have been in the same department of University of Bologna for many years.
My office was in front of his office. In this position we met many times when
we were starting or finishing a new working day–as we're doing now: finishing
a working day and starting a new one! We discussed many things, but we had more
and more to say! All too soon my friend is going away I'll have always the speed
of your reasoning in my mind and your way of smiling good bye.Claudio
caro claudio, ti scrivo perchè così mi sembra che tu possa ricevere questo mio messaggio ed invitarti così a un congresso che certamente faremo in qualche parte e su qualche cosa enzo spaltro
Ana Paula Afonso
ISCAP, Portugal
The last time I saw Professor Claudio Ciborra was last March, in Milan,
and he spoke with such vivacity that he seemed full of health. He was
a young man (what does 54 years old mean nowadays?), very positive and
with lots of energy. I regret his death, it is, with no doubt, a great
loss to the scientific community.
Andrea Aparo
Italy
... che peccato non avere avuto più tempo quando lo si è avuto,
per raccontarsi e non solo storie di lavoro. Si è cresciuti insieme,
lungo percorsi diversi, sotto lo sguardo attento di Umberto Colombo.
Ci siamo incrociati tante volte in luoghi sempre diversi: Roma, Milano,
Sophia Antipolis, Londra ed in tanti aeroporti. Sempre con un sorriso
ed una promessa di rivederci. Peccato non avere più il tempo di
farlo. Ci ritroveremo una volta, in aula, da qualche parte a raccontare
altre storie. Senza tempo.
Rosie Gosling
Director of External Study, LSE
Claudio was an inspiration to us all at the LSE. Reading the tributes
to him on these pages makes me understand so clearly how his early death
will and has affected so many. His friends and colleagues in 'his' department;
his huge international network of academics and friends; his opera friends;
his drinking friends; and those like me who used to have long sessions
discussing everything from sociology to good food and drink. Thank you
for these friendships and for the times we drank and spoke together.
Thank you for the good times.
Dario Forti
Skolé srl, Italy
I met Claudio on the early eighties, when we were joined in a consulting
team for IBM Italy. Later, we occasionally cooperated in organisational
development projects, especially in Unilever Italy; more frequently,
I listened to Claudio's brilliant conference lectures and studied his
books. His death hurt me deeply. No news about him during the last years;
just his name in a "necrologio" on Repubblica. Ciao Claudio
Ferdinando Pennarola
On behalf of the IS group of Bocconi University
At Bocconi University we remember Claudio as an outstanding scholar in
the IS field. We have a long tradition in organization theory studies
and IS and Claudio has always played the role for us of the challenging
researcher, a stimulus to improve our projects and ideas.
Karlheinz Kautz
Department of Informatics, Copenhagen Business School
'You're dangerous because you're honest'. You wouldn't even have liked
the U2 song, would have dismissed it as too commercial and mainstream,
yet the line describes you somehow. I'm glad though we shared an appreciation
for The Matrix soundtrack. Many memories spring to mind: hanging out
in a Copenhagen nightclub with you, eating in a small family restaurant
on Capri with you, organising and disagreeing on the programme of an
(EC)IS conference with you, arguing about IRIS games results and information
systems development with you. You were a great challenge and inspiration
to me (and many others). You introduced me to the IS community in Italy
where I then found so many friends. You are greatly missed, take 'care'
where ever you are now.
Cecilia Rossignoli
Facoltà di Economia, Universita' degli Studi di Verona
Dear Claudio,
Your work represents a milestone for all scholars worldwide and a great
inspiration for me. Thank you Claudio, I will all miss your inimitable
style. Good bye.
Andrea Resca
Iulm University - Milan
My mind, after Claudio's loss, goes back to our university
days in Bologna, when I met him first, and considers how my life has
changed because of it. New horizons were opened and new meanings concerning
what to do in my life emerged. But what about now? I am pretty sure that
things will not change a lot. Claudio will continue to inspire me and
maybe not only me. He will continue to be a point of reference for researching
into the very depth of things and for pursuing the beauty of life.
Ines O’Donovan
Theseus Alumni and Managing Director of
myd sarl., France
Do not stand at my grave and weep
|
When you wake in the morning hush |
Claudio’s ideas did not die. They will live on forever. I was lucky enough to meet Claudio at our Theseus MBA Refresher last year. And he made a big impression.
Mark Agius
NeMIS 2001/2, Department of Media Studies, LSE
I was very fortunate to have Claudio as an instructor while I was at
the LSE. The most remarkable thing about him was that,
beyond his obvious passion and knowledge of the IS field, he had
made the connection that life, everyday, needed to be celebrated. He loved
to make connections between the past and the present; whether that be
in art, music, food or sport, and showed us that there was life beyond
the
classroom and that these were the things that lasted: the true legacy.
Claudio was one my great memories of life at LSE.
Marcello Martinez
Seconda Università di Napoli, Napoli, Italia
At the University of Naples
I had the opportunity to work with Claudio when we organized the 11th ECIS
conference in Italy. I was inspired by
his ideas and I think he has been an outstanding researcher in the IS
and Organizational Theory fields. I feel his death is a great loss for
the Italian and international scientific community. I will miss his challenging
lectures and his brilliant mind. Ciao Claudio.
Brent Work
Cardiff University, UK
I did not know Claudio personally. I had listened and talked to him
at several conferences over the last decade and had a particularly wonderful
conversation with him once when visiting the LSE for the day. Yet, in
these brief encounters I felt the full force of his charm. It was as
a reader of his work though that I knew him best.
I learned of his death only yesterday. I was rereading an essay from his book The Labyrinths of Information in order to confirm that it was the one that I wanted to give to a group of students. As I recalled, it made a very particularly point far better than I could. But as I read it, I realized that the essay was even more wonderful than I had remembered. This was because two years after my first reading, I could see new facets to it that had eluded me earlier. After all, it is the nature of a classic that a reader grows into it. In fact the experience was so pleasurable that I read the whole book through again in one sitting. My enjoyment was so intense that I went to the Internet to send Claudio a note to thank him. On the Web I found the awful news that he had died several weeks earlier.
There are many reasons to praise Claudio, and many more eminent than I have and will do so. I just want to say that there were three things about his work that I admired above all else. The first was his writing. Many professors have written intelligently on information systems, but few have added to the literature on this subject. Claudio was foremost among this literary few. The second was that he was truly learned. Once upon a time, this was a requisite quality of any professor, but intense specialization has made synoptic learning seem terribly old-fashioned. Nevertheless, I learned the most from Claudio when he employed fresh metaphors, like bricolage, drift, and hospitality, from distant intellectual fields to caste light on hitherto hidden features of information systems. The third was that he seemed to recognize that the study of information systems belonged to the humanities rather than either engineering or social science. And here I think he came closest to the essence of our krisis. These are the things that I thought most rare about Claudio¹s work and the ones that I most valued about him. These are the reasons, I think, that students, teachers, and practitioners of information systems will find Claudio impossible to replace.
Obi Chinyere-Ezeh
ADMIS 2001/2, Department of Information Systems, LSE
Intelligence, wit, warmth....A completely brilliant Man and Professor
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last updated
22 June, 2005
