BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//sebbo.net//ical-generator//EN URL:https://lectures.london/london-school-of-economics/tech-sovereignty-se curity-and-democracy-a-conversation-with-henna-virkkunen/calender.ics NAME:Lectures London X-WR-CALNAME:Lectures London TIMEZONE-ID:Europe/London X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/London BEGIN:VEVENT UID:c1ed198d-f537-441a-b8ef-d233f67132b5 SEQUENCE:0 DTSTAMP:20261104T132910 DTSTART:20261105T174500 DTEND:20261105T183000 SUMMARY:Tech sovereignty\, security and democracy: a conversation with Hen na Virkkunen LOCATION:London School of Economics: In-person and online public event (LS E campus\, venue tbc to ticketholders) DESCRIPTION:Thursday 5 November 2026 5.45pm - 6.30pmSpeakerHenna Virkkunen ChairProfessor Cosmina DorobantuAs the European Commission’s Executive V ice-President (EVP) for Tech Sovereignty\, Security and Democracy\, Henna Virkkunen is tasked with combatting the increasingly complex security thre ats facing the EU\, while at the same time strengthening external borders and internal security. This goes hand in hand with her responsibility to e nsure European freedoms\, justice and democracy are strengthened.She is al so responsible for the commission’s Digital and Frontier Technologies po rtfolio. This entails leading Europe’s efforts in shaping a competitive\ , resilient and inclusive digital future and maintaining or attaining lead ership in strategic digital technologies.EVP Virkkunen is joined by Cosmin a Dorobantu\, Co-Director of the LSE Data Science Institute for a conversa tion on AI\, digital sovereignty\, cybersecurity\, democracy\, regulation and the policies shaping Europe's technological future.Meet our speaker an d chairHenna Virkkunen is the European Commission's Executive Vice-Preside nt. Prior to joining the European Commission Ms Virkkunen served as a Memb er of the European Parliament for over ten years. As a Member of the Commi ttee on Industry\, Research and Energy her work focused on digitalisation and frontier technologies. Ms Virkkunen has held various ministerial posit ions in Finland\, namely Minister of Transport and Local Government (2014) \, Minister of Public Administration and Local Government (2011-2014) as w ell as Minister of Education (2008-2011).Cosmina Dorobantu is Co-Director of the LSE Data Science Institute\, where she is also Professor in Practic e. Her research interest is in AI and public policy. Her career spans from shaping Google’s business strategy in Eastern Europe\, the Middle East\ , and Africa\, to co-founding Aurora Energy Research\, now Europe’s larg est dedicated power analytics provider. Most recently\, alongside Professo r Helen Margetts\, she co-founded and co-directed the world’s largest pr ogramme of research on AI for the public sector at The Alan Turing Institu te.Any questions?If you have a query please email dsi.events@lse.ac.uk or take a look at the information below.LSE Blogs Many speakers at LSE events also write for LSE Blogs\, which present research and critical commentary accessibly for a public audience. Follow LSE British Politics\, the Busi ness Review\, LSE Impact\, LSE European Politics and the LSE Review of B ooks to learn more about the debates our events series present.Photography and filming Photographs are regularly taken at LSE events both by LSE sta ff and members of the media and events are routinely filmed. Photographs f rom events taken by LSE staff are often used on LSE's social media account s. If you have any concerns about this please contact the event organiser in advance of the event.Media queries Please contact the Press Office if y ou would like to request a press seat or have a media query about this eve nt\, email dsi.comms@lse.ac.uk. Please note that press seats are usually a llocated at least 24 hours before each event.Social Media Event updates an d other information about what’s happening at the Data Science Institute can be found on our LinkedIn.Livestreams and archive videos of past event s are shared on our YouTube channel.Accessibility The Data Science Instit ute at LSE aims to ensure that people have equal access to these public ev ents\, but please contact dsi.events@lse.ac.uk as far as possible in advan ce if you have any access requirements so that arrangements\, where possi ble\, can be made.  Access Guides to all our venues can be viewed online .WIFI Access LSE has now introduced wireless for guests and visitors in as sociation with 'The Cloud'\, also in use at many other locations across th e UK. If you are on campus visiting for the day or attending a conference or event\, you can connect your device to wireless. See more information a nd create an account at Join the Cloud.Visitors from other participating i nstitutions are encouraged to use eduroam. If you are having trouble conn ecting to eduroam\, please contact your home institution for assistance.Th e Cloud is only intended for guest and visitor access to wifi. Existing LS E staff and students are encouraged to use eduroam instead.From time to t ime there are changes to event details so we strongly recommend that if yo u plan to attend this event you check back on this listing on the day of t he event.Whilst we are hosting this listing\, LSE Events does not take res ponsibility for the running and administration of this event. While we tak e responsible measures to ensure that accurate information is given here t his event is ultimately the responsibility of the organisation presenting the event.LSE holds a wide range of events\, covering many of the most con troversial issues of the day\, and speakers at our events may express view s that cause offence. The views expressed by speakers at LSE events do not reflect the position or views of the London School of Economics and Polit ical Science. URL;VALUE=URI:https://www.lse.ac.uk/dsi/events/2026-27/05-11-26-henna-virk kunen END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR