Speaker profile · Germany
Dr. Iris Wieczorek
Senior Researcher and Representative in Japan
- Organisation
- GIGA Institute for Asian Studies
- Country
- Germany
- Institution type
- Academic and think tank
Biography
Professional biography
Dr. Iris Wieczorek studied Japanese and Chinese Studies as well as Computer Science at the University of Hamburg. In 2000, she joined the GIGA Institute for Asian Studies in Hamburg, where she works on the comparative analysis of Japan’s research and innovation system. In 2008, she established the Japan Representative Office of the German Research Foundation (DFG) in Tokyo and served as its Director until 2012.
She subsequently founded IRIS Science Management Inc., a Tokyo-based consultancy specialising in policy advice, research management, academic career development and training, and international relations in science. She serves on several Japanese research-policy committees, continues to hold a senior research position at GIGA and represents the institute in Japan. She is also Head of GIGA’s Digital Transformation Lab (DigiTraL), funded by the German Federal Foreign Office. DigiTraL analyses the political drivers and real-world consequences of digital transformation around the world, with a particular focus on the Global South as an actor in and shaper of this transformation.