Leo Lahti: Candidacy for CODATA Executive Committee Ordinary Member

This is the thirteenth in the series of short statements from candidates in the coming CODATA Elections at the General Assembly to be held on 17-18 October 2025. Leo Lahti is a candidate for the CODATA Executive Committee as an Ordinary Member. He was nominated by Finland.

Data comes to life through user communities to advance science and improve our world. This principle has guided my data science research and advocacy work for over two decades. As a professor of Data Science at the University of Turku, Finland, I share CODATA’s mission to connect data and people towards these goals.

I earned my doctoral degree at the Department of Information and Computer Science, Aalto University, Finland, in 2010. I have also spent nearly a decade abroad working on data-intensive research in e.g. European Organization for Nuclear Research CERN, European Bioinformatics Institute, and Croatian Meteorological Institute. My research team now focuses on the analysis of complex natural and social systems, and open data science has become fundamental for such research.

At the national level, I have contributed to open science policy work as Vice Chair of Finland’s national coordination on open science. I led the development of the National Policy on Open Access to Research Methods and Infrastructures (2023). I also serve on the board of Open Knowledge Finland, and participated in the Ministry of Justice working group reforming the Public Information Act, focusing on transparency of data and algorithms in a digital society. I received the National Open Science Award (2021) from the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies. This national work parallels many international developments and could inspire and inform related policy development within CODATA.

At the international level, I have participated in global research and training networks, such as the Bioconductor Community Advisory Board, and coordinated international research software development and data science training events as a certified instructor for Data Carpentries, a global network for evidence-based data science pedagogy. Within CODATA, I have led the Finnish national branch since 2022, acted as a liaison for the Data Ethics Task Group and served in the Executive Committee 2023–2025. My work builds on this experience as a data science researcher, educator, and community builder. 

As a member of the CODATA Executive Committee, I will be looking forward to build on these networks and on my experience from the first term. I will particularly focus on the following:

  • advance international policy work towards responsible data science standards
  • strengthen international training networks on data science 
  • expand CODATA’s work and visibility in Northern Europe and globally by developing connections with other relevant networks

Through these and other activities, we can continue to promote the CODATA mission towards open, responsible, and globally connected data science.