Dr. Miriam J.S. Leis

Miriam J.S. Leis, Ph.D. is a professional strategic foresight researcher and consultant. She has studied political science and sociology in Germany with a focus on Sociology of Technology, research policy, biopolitics, and International Relations. Additionally she visited university courses in physics, biology, mathematics, and information engineering. Miriam has always admired the ideal of the “Renaissance Human” and therefore places a high value on interdisciplinary education and considers it to be necessary for innovation and constructive progress.
 
Her professional experience includes academia, business/management consulting, policy analysis, and consulting and marketing management and she has worked on projects for the European Commission, Dutch Ministries, universities, RTOs and large companies. Her major projects include “The Future of Education”, “Weak Signal Scanning for Foresight”, “Emerging Technology Platform”, “Active and Healthy Aging”, “Key Emerging Technologies for Europe”, “Innovation Outlook”, “Development of a European Defence Technological and Industrial Base”, and “Ethics in Synthetic Biology”.
 
Miriam’s specializations include Emerging Technology Assessment (e.g. biomedical, HET, energy, space, NBIC), Strategic Foresight Methodology (megatrends, weak signals, scenario development, integrated foresight), ELSI/ELSA of emerging technologies, and foresight-related strategy development (scenario and SWOT analysis, foresight education).
 
As a volunteer she is also involved in a variety of future-oriented activities, including Longevity Research and Advocacy and studies on transhumanism. One of her interests is to promote the future-oriented values stated in the Transhumanist Declaration.
 
Miriam is a cosmopolitan with a German passport who has lived and worked in Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, Saipan, and India and knows 7 languages. She has published several scientific and policy papers, gave presentations, and is also a hobby artist.
 
Read her LinkedIn profile and her blog. Follow her Twitter feed.