This is the twenty second in the series of short statements from candidates in the coming CODATA Elections at the General Assembly to be held on 27-28 October, 2023. Kostiantyn Yefremov is a candidate for the CODATA Executive Committee as an Ordinary Member. He was nominated by Ukraine.

It is an honor to be nominated by the Ukrainian scientific community represented in CODATA by the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

My areas of expertise are information technologies and data integration. I lead the Laboratory of Situational Analysis and Scenario Modeling at the National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”. Our research focuses on developing models, methods, and tools for modeling, analyzing, and predicting the behavior of complex systems of various natures to optimize their operation and provide a basis for well-informed, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive decision-making processes. Recent work includes a series of studies related to performing food and nutritional security in Europe and Ukraine, researching energy security in Europe, and a series of studies on predictive modeling and forecasting the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as scenarios of changes in economic, social, and security characteristics of Ukraine after the pandemic.

I currently have the privilege of leading the ISC WDS World Data Center for Geoinformatics and Sustainable Development (Ukraine). The Сenter coordinates interdisciplinary scientific research at the national level, providing research groups with data and data processing services. The Center’s team also develops methods and tools for processing and intelligent analysis of unstructured Big Data (natural language texts, geospatial data, etc.), which are successfully used in interdisciplinary research. Annually, the Center team conducts research and publishes reports dedicated to the analysis and prediction of sustainable and safe development in 135 countries worldwide over medium-term (up to 5 years) and long-term (up to 10 years) time horizons. Within the International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development, the Center actively collaborates with UNESCO, UNPD etc.

I am an Associate Professor at the National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” and a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Institute for Applied System Analysis of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

I have had the privilege of leading the development of information systems for monitoring, intelligent analysis of monitoring results, and predicting the dynamics of land cover changes. These systems are actively used in Ukraine for scenario modeling of crisis events and security phenomena, damage assessment to the water sector, agro-industrial complex, and more, due to natural and man-made disasters.

In 2023, I was honored with the Award of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine for the development and implementation of innovative technologies for a series of works aimed at enhancing the completeness and adequacy of information support for decision-making processes to identify, prevent, and overcome the consequences of crisis phenomena and multiple threats of various natures for national security, resource preservation, strategic planning, recovery, and sustainable development of urban areas.

During my career, I have participated as a principal investigator, co-leader in over twenty national and international projects. I have been invited as an expert by the State Foundation for Fundamental Research of Ukraine, the US National Science Foundation and others.

As a member of the Executive Board of CODATA Ukraine and director of the World Data Center for Geoinformatics and Sustainable Development, I am actively engaged at the national level in the activities of state and non-state structures related to the development of the national spatial data infrastructure, expanding the range of e-services and open government data, and the development and implementation of the e-Government concept in Ukraine. My experience in international and interdisciplinary structures of ISC has allowed me to make a significant contribution to the development of policies and principles for the national spatial data infrastructure and the e-Government concept in Ukraine.

I have been actively involved in CODATA activities since 2008, starting with the establishment of the Ukrainian National Committee for CODATA. As the Co-Chair of the Organizing Committee, I played an active role in organizing the 21st International Biennial Conference: “Scientific Information for Society – from Today to the Future” in Kiev, Ukraine (2008). At various times, I have been involved in several CODATA Task Groups, including as a member of the Preservation and Access of Research Data in Developing Countries Task Group and as the Co-chair of the CODATA-WDS Joint Sub-group (2010 – 2016), and as a member of the Earth and Space Science Data Interoperability Task Group (2014 – 2016).

As the head of WDC-Ukraine, I am also actively involved in the work of ISC World Data System.

I believe that a collaboration between CODATA and WDS can result in a more robust and coordinated effort to advance data accessibility, quality, and stewardship within the global scientific community, ultimately contributing to the ISC’s vision of making scientific knowledge and data universally accessible and shared. I will be pleased to share my years of experience and contribute efforts in this direction.

My experience in utilizing Big Data to address sustainable development challenges, using this data for decision-making and policy development, and organizing interdisciplinary research in the field of sustainable development, aligns seamlessly with CODATA’s vision of advancing open science and supporting the implementation of the SDGs.

I believe that serving as a member of the Executive Committee will enable me to effectively integrate the contributions of the Ukrainian research community, as well as the countries of Eastern Europe with which we have strong connections, into CODATA initiatives.