/Connect.Learn.Be Inspired.Meet
our Mentors
Welcome to the heart of the DDSA Mentoring Programme – our dedicated mentors. As we prepare for the third edition of our programme, we invite you to meet the inspiring individuals guiding our mentees on their data science journeys. Our mentors come from diverse backgrounds, including students, data scientists, professors, and professionals, all united by their passion for fostering growth within Denmark’s data science community.
To make the most of our mentor profiles, use the search field to find specific skills such as ‘NLP’, ‘life science’, ‘teamwork’, and more. This feature allows you to connect with mentors who have the expertise you’re interested in, making it easier to navigate through our rich spectrum of knowledge and experience. Explore, learn, and connect with the future leaders of data science through the DDSA Mentoring Programme.
Sadok Ben Yahia
Background
Professor Sadok Ben Yahia is a Full Professor at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) and a former Full Professor at Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech). His expertise spans artificial intelligence, machine learning, data mining, ontology engineering, big data analytics, and smart city applications. He has authored more than 300 scientific publications and has led interdisciplinary research on urban mobility, recommender systems, information retrieval, knowledge discovery, and human-centric AI, with a strong focus on translating advanced AI methods into real-world solutions.
Motivation
I am motivated to join the DDSA Mentoring Programme because I strongly believe in knowledge sharing, professional development, and community building within data science. As a professor and researcher in AI, machine learning, and data science, I have mentored many students and early-career researchers. I look forward to supporting the next generation of data scientists, sharing insights from academia and industry collaborations, learning from mentees’ perspectives, and contributing to the growth of Denmark’s data science community.
Skills, expertise and interests
- Artificial Intelligence
Sadok Ben Yahia
Full professor
Background Professor Sadok Ben Yahia is a Full Professor at...
Sara Behnamian
Background
I am a mathematician and computational scientist with a PhD in Mathematics, currently working as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Copenhagen. My work combines mathematical modelling, machine learning, bioinformatics and data analysis, with applications in ancient DNA, genomics and interdisciplinary computational research.
Motivation
I would like to contribute to the Danish data science community by supporting early-career researchers and students. I know the challenges of building a research career across disciplines and cultures, and I hope to share practical experience from mathematics, machine learning and computational biology. I also value mentoring as a two-way dialogue that encourages confidence, curiosity and clearer career choices.
Skills, expertise and interests
- Academic writing
- Artificial Intelligence
- Natural Language Processing
- Statistics and mathematics
- Text analysis
- Deep learning
- Computer vision
- Machine learning
Sara Behnamian
Postdoctoral researcher
Background I am a mathematician and computational scientist with a...
Sebastian Basterrech
Background
I completed my PhD at INRIA Rennes (France), working on Markov modeling, neural networks, and quasi-Newton algorithms. I was a postdoc and scientific member at a technical university in Czechia, and later a postdoc at DTU Compute, Denmark. Since August 2025, I have been a postdoc at DTU Construct. My research focuses on recurrent systems, continual learning, spatio-temporal modeling, physics-informed ML, and digital twins. I have extensive experience supervising BSc and MSc students in Czechia and Denmark, and in Spring 2025 I taught the Master’s course of DoE at DTU.
Motivation
The main motivation for joining this programme is to engage with students from universities beyond DTU, as well as researchers in data science and AI. I aim to build connections with Danish institutions, startups, and companies through interaction with mentors and mentees, and to support PhD students and early-career researchers. These experiences and networking opportunities will also help me develop my own research team. Overall, I aim to foster collaboration between research and industry while expanding my network and strengthening my integration in the Danish data science ecosystem.
Skills, expertise and interests
- Academic writing
- MLOps
- Artificial Intelligence
- Statistics and mathematics
- Data modelling
- Complex systems
- Deep learning
- Image processing
- Machine learning
Sebastian Basterrech
Postdoc
Background I completed my PhD at INRIA Rennes (France), working...
Silja Heilmann
Background
I hold a PhD in Biophysics and have more than 10 years of experience working at the intersection of data science, machine learning, quantitative modelling, and biomedical imaging. My background spans academia (University of Copenhagen and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York) and biotech entrepreneurship as Co-founder and Chief AI Officer at Metsystem. I have supervised MSc and BSc students, taught image analysis and data science, and enjoy mentoring researchers navigating interdisciplinary careers spanning data science, life science, and innovation.
Motivation
I would like to join the Mentoring Programme because I genuinely enjoy helping students and early-career researchers navigate their professional development. One of my former students recently encouraged me to apply, which made me reflect on how much I value mentoring. My own career has been very interdisciplinary, spanning biophysics, machine learning, data science, cancer biology, academia, and biotech entrepreneurship. I hope to help mentees identify their strengths, communicate the value, and navigate careers that do not fit neatly within traditional disciplinary boundaries.
Skills, expertise and interests
- Academic writing
- Artificial Intelligence
- Cloud computing
- Image analysis
- Complex systems
- Deep learning
- Image processing
- Computer vision
Silja Heilmann
Chief AI Officer
Background I hold a PhD in Biophysics and have more...
Stella Grasshof
Background
Today, I am Associate Prof at the IT University of Copenhagen (ITU). I have come a long way from an interdisciplinary study program (BSc and MSc) in Computational Life Science, and then a 7y PhD in Germany (Dr.-Ing.). I got a postdoc at ITU, and the rest is history. I am proud to having prevailed in this male-dominated environment, and try to not only be a role model, but also change the system, now that I have tenure. My background is in math and computer science, and my research focusses on machine learning in the visual domain. Research for the people!
Motivation
As the oldest of 6 children, I was brought into the role of ‘leading by example’ and care-taking early. I had to figure things out a lot myself, and did not have any role model in my life to guide me to towards and in University. I strive to be the mentor I never had. During my PhD I was a mentor for ‘Arbeiterkind.de’ an initiative, which promotes equal access to higher education. Since 2020, my mentoring activities have included: SPS (supporting students with challenges such as neurodiversity), Women in Machine Learning, and being mentor internally at ITU.
Skills, expertise and interests
- Academic writing
- Data analytics
- Artificial Intelligence
- Statistics and mathematics
- Image analysis
- Deep learning
- Image processing
- Computer vision
- Machine learning
Stella Grasshof
Associate Professor
Background Today, I am Associate Prof at the IT University...
Suman Sourav
Background
I am an Assistant Professor at Aalborg University, Denmark (Copenhagen Campus). I earned my Ph.D. from the National University of Singapore, where I also received the Research Achievement Award. My research focuses on (1) improving global connectivity through novel routing and scheduling frameworks for satellite network constellations and edge-cloud systems. (2) proactive attack detection in cyber-physical systems through data-driven techniques. (3) Bridging theory to practice through deployable, lightweight solutions validated on real data and infrastructure.
Motivation
I strongly believe in the value of mentorship, both as someone who’s benefited from it, and as someone who wants to give back. Throughout my own journey, I’ve had mentors who helped me navigate uncertainty, encouraged me when I doubted myself, and provided immense support when I needed it. I’d like to offer that same kind of support to young and aspiring scientists who are finding their own paths. At the same time, I see mentorship as a learning experience for the mentor, too. I am looking forward to being part of a network where we can all learn, share, and help one another move forward.
Skills, expertise and interests
- Academic writing
- Data analytics
- Cloud computing
- Machine learning
Suman Sourav
Assistant Professor
Background I am an Assistant Professor at Aalborg University, Denmark...
Sylvain Estebe
Background
I recently completed an M.Sc. in Cognitive Science at Aarhus University with a thesis applying Bayesian cognitive modeling to customer churn in collaboration with Norlys. I now work as a Research Assistant at the Center for Humanities Computing, developing agent-based models and LLM-based annotation pipelines for computational social science. My expertise spans probabilistic modeling (PyMC, JAX), NLP at scale, and causal inference, combined with applied data science experience in industry.
Motivation
Throughout my studies, mentors were decisive in helping me navigate research directions and build technical confidence, especially as someone moving into data science from a non-traditional background. I want to give back by supporting students facing similar transitions. The programme is also an opportunity to sharpen my own communication, broaden my network within the Danish data science community, and learn from fellow mentors working across academia and industry.
Skills, expertise and interests
- Data analytics
- MLOps
- Artificial Intelligence
- Good Coding Practices
- Natural Language Processing
- Data mining
- Statistics and mathematics
- Data modelling
- Text analysis
- Deep learning
- DevOps
- Machine learning
Sylvain Estebe
Research Assistant
Background I recently completed an M.Sc. in Cognitive Science at...