Karlis Kanders
Member - STIP Compass Technological Sounding Board at Royal Statistical Society
London, England, United Kingdom
Summary
👤
Senior🎓
Top SchoolKarlis Kanders is an interdisciplinary data scientist and researcher with eight years' experience applying machine learning, network analysis and nonlinear dynamical systems to horizon scanning, labour-market innovation and policy-relevant foresight. Currently heading Data Science, Discovery and Innovation at Nesta and advising the OECD’s STIP Compass, he builds AI-powered infrastructure that turns large-scale research, business and policy data into actionable trend intelligence. He has a rare blend of academic rigour from a DSc in Computational Neuroscience at ETH Zürich—where he published multiple first-author papers—and practical product delivery, having led prototype AI tools, managed teams and produced high-impact horizon-scanning reports cited by industry and government. Karlis’ work often connects micro-scale models (neural and dynamical systems) with macro-scale social systems, enabling novel insights such as mapping career transition pathways to anticipate automation risk. Colleagues describe him as a hands-on leader who fosters high-support, high-challenge teams while translating complex methods into usable policy tools.
8 years of coding experience
5 years of employment as a software developer
Bachelor of Science (BSc), Biology/Human Physiology, Bachelor of Science (BSc), Biology/Human Physiology at Latvijas UniversitateDoctor of Sciences, Computational Neuroscience, Doctor of Sciences, Computational Neuroscience at ETH ZürichERASMUS exchange, Neuroscience, ERASMUS exchange, Neuroscience at University of Helsinki
Github Skills (25)
horizon9
scanning9
archived8
data-driven7
science5
cookiecutter5
python4
vscode3
data-science3
machine-learning2
sweet2
ai2
deep-learning2
forecasting2
animated1
Programming languages (5)
Github contributions (5)
nestauk/discovery_generative_ai
Jun 2023 - Jun 2024
We are exploring the potential impact of Generative AI on Nesta's Missions and work to uncover opportunities and risks that can inform Nesta’s strategy.
Contributions:37 reviews, 49 PRs, 99 pushes in 1 year
nestauk/innovation_sweet_spots
May 2021 - Feb 2023
Data-driven horizon scanning for emerging tech and innovations
Contributions:101 reviews, 163 commits, 122 PRs in 1 year 9 months
data-drivenemerging-techhorizonscanning
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