Thorsten Jelinek

Dr. Thorsten Jelinek is a public policy and strategy specialist, focusing on digital governance within the context of international relations. With more than 25 years of international experience across Europe, Asia, and the United States, Dr. Jelinek currently resides in Berlin, Germany, where he serves as the Europe Director for the Taihe Institute, a leading think take headquarter in Beijing. He is also a Visiting Professor at the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences as well as a Research Fellow at Hertie School’s Center for Digital Governance. In these roles, Dr. Jelinek is an active participant in several multilateral institutions, including UNIDO, OECD, G20/T20, and ITU and offers strategic advisory to both governments and businesses. His work centers on key issues such as AI governance, digital sovereignty, cybersecurity, privacy, and sustainability. His scholarly contributions have been published in journals including from Springer, IEEE, and Nature. His recent book “Digital Sovereignty Trap” focusses on geopolitical aspects concerning the digital transformation and in 2020 his policy brief on the establishment of a “G20 Coordinating Committee for the Governance of AI” was part of the T20 Communiqué presented at the G20 Leaders’ summit.

As a proactive member of the Thematic Forum on Think Tank Exchange (BRSN), Jelinek has made presentations and moderated roundtables at the Belt and Road Forums for International Cooperation in Beijing (2017, 2019, and 2023), focusing on sustainable infrastructure and digital governance. He previously engaged with The Federation of German Industries (BDI) in the connectivity task force. Dr. Jelinek is also an entrepreneur translating policies into business ventures. As the CEO of GemeinWerk, he is pioneering the first digital cooperative for the construction industry in Germany – Bauform eG – promoting a framework for trusted and sovereign data exchange. Dr. Jelinek has participated as a member of German Government delegations to China and spoke at the European Parliament about Sino-West relations and the implications of 5G mobile networks. His prior role as associate director at the World Economic Forum and positions at Siemens, Airbus/EADS, McKinsey & Company, Bertelsmann, Huawei, and ZTE have solidified his industry and managerial expertise. Dr. Jelinek's academic achievements include a PhD in Social and Political Sciences from the University of Cambridge, an MSc in Organisational and Social Psychology from the London School of Economics, and a German Diploma in Business Information Systems from the Berlin University of Applied Sciences.

Selected publications:

Jelinek T, Qiu Y, Guo H, et al. 2024 (forthcoming). Big earth data for the common good: Advancing a Green BRI through science-driven SDGs collaboration and realization. 中国网信杂志.

Jelinek T, Voss A, Bühler MM, Glauner P, et al. 2024. Intelligent decarbonisation: mainstreaming artificial intelligence and cyberphysical systems for carbon neutrality. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems, vol. 2, pp. 26-34, doi: 10.1109/TICPS.2024.3351624

Guo H, Liang D, Nativi S, Jelinek T, et al. 2023. A future for digital public goods for monitoring SDG indicators. Sci Data, Nature, 10, 875. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02803-x

Jelinek T. 2023. The next decade of China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Adapting to global shifts in development, collaboration, and security. Kommission Seidenstrasse, BWA.

Bühler MM, Nübel K, and T Jelinek. 2023. Data cooperatives as a catalyst for collaboration, data sharing and the digital transformation of the construction sector. Buildings.

Jelinek T. 2023. The digital sovereignty trap: Avoiding the return of silos and a divided world. Series: SpringerBriefs in International Relations, Springer Nature.

Bühler MM, Jelinek T, Nübel K. 2022. Training and preparing tomorrow’s workforce for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Educ. Sci. 12, 782. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12110782

Bühler MM, Jelinek T, et al. 2021. A new vision for infratech: governance and value network integration through federated data spaces and advanced infrastructure services for a resilient and sustainable future. Think 20 Italy.

Jelinek T, Wallach W, D Kerimi. 2020. The creation of a G20 coordinating committee for the governance of AI. AI and Ethics, Springer Nature, doi: 10.1007/s43681-020-00019-y

Jelinek T. 2018. Post rapprochement: Sino-West relations. In: Billows, W., Körber, S. (eds.) Cultures of We. European National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) and Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa). Steidl, Göttingen, pp. 54–59.