Ilja Afanasjevs, Higher Education and Science Information Technology Shared Service Centre, Latvia
Short bio
He started his career in higher education in 2015 at Riga Business School, where he was involved in several major transformation initiatives. During COVID-19, he led rapid digital changes, including implementing the DigiExam platform in just two months to ensure secure examinations and remote proctoring. He also contributed to the successful adoption of the Harvard CS50 computer science course for Latvian students, enabling around 750 non-IT students to complete the programme, and participated in a collaboration project with the University at Buffalo.
Since 2023, he has been part of VPC, Latvia’s NREN, initially as CTO. As the organisation evolved, his role expanded, and since June 2025 he has been leading VPC. He is currently responsible for coordinating several large-scale national initiatives, including the Study Process Digitalisation project, the EOSC national node development, Data Stewards programme, and the development of shared digital services and infrastructure across the Latvian higher education ecosystem. LinkedIn profile.
