Havva Ebrahimi Pour

In the current fast-paced world, big data and artificial intelligence have become crucial factors transforming the landscape of policymaking and data-driven decision-making. As a socio-political researcher with a background in data science, I have been captivated by the profound influence that data and AI technologies have on shaping policies and governance.

I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a Master’s degree in International Relations, where I consistently ranked among the top students with high distinction. I have also gained valuable research experience in examining the impact of social media on new social movements, which sparked my curiosity to further investigate the complex interplay between data, media and various socio-political factors. More recently, to gain a deeper understanding of European Union institutions and their policy-making processes, I pursued a second master’s program at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in Political Science, specializing in European and International Governance.

My interest in data science was piqued during my Master’s thesis research, where I investigated the role of artificialintelligence and big data in policy domains such as migration management. I then undertook an intensive AI Developer traineeship, gaining hands-on experience with data management and AI tools. Following that, I worked as a data scientist at a company specializing in cultural and leisure communication, where I applied my skills and knowledge to real-world problems.

My academic background and research experience, coupled with my knowledge of data science, led me to the imec-SMIT-Vrije Universiteit Brussel, where I currently work as a university researcher. I am a member of the “Digital Inclusion and Citizen Engagement” unit at SMIT and contribute to CLIMAS, an EU-funded project, as well as other projects. My role in the CLIMAS involves presenting guidelines and methodologies for citizen-collaborative future scenario-building and using data science for transparent decision support to make an informed choice on the preferred scenarios. Additionally, I am involved in other relevant projects at SMIT that aim to improve the decision-making process based on structured techniques such as the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP).