Kelly Yen

If you find yourself curious about emerging technologies and their societal impact, Kelly would be a great person to talk to! While engineers accelerate the world into the future with groundbreaking innovations, it’s people like Kelly that’s working on bridging the gap between social sciences and STEM to ensure that the future we’re heading into is people and planet centered, not just technology centered. 

With a background in software engineering and information networks, Kelly’s experiences in the tech industry gave her first hand insight into the challenges and complexities of trying to align technical goals with social needs. Prior to Demos Helsinki, she spent several years immersed in the world of public interest tech, running project teams and designing workshops to encourage engineers to critically engage with the societal implications of their work. 

At Demos Helsinki, Kelly worked on the ARISE project to help engineers build and implement human-centered robotics using a social science based framework.

After hours, you might find Kelly playing chess at a local library or enjoying a stroll near the sea. When the weather forces her indoors, she passes her time reading, cooking up tasty meals, and tending to her house plants.