Felienne Hermans
Felienne Hermans is Professor of Computer Science Education at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and a computer science teacher at Open Schoolgemeenschap Bijlmer. At VU Amsterdam she teaches Computer Science Didactics and AI in Education, and conducts research on the accessibility of the digital world in the broadest sense.
In her research, Felienne focuses on questions such as: why isn’t everyone contributing to building the digital world yet (for example girls and women)? How can we make programming, algorithms, and AI understandable for people with diverse backgrounds, ages, and educational levels? And how do we ensure that everyone can make well-informed decisions in a world increasingly shaped by software?
Felienne studied computer science in Eindhoven and obtained her PhD in 2013 from TU Delft on detecting errors in spreadsheets, research that later led to the startup Infotron. Her interest in education began when she started teaching programming to children and discovered how significant the cognitive barriers can be. This led her to delve into cognitive science and computer science education research.
She is the creator of Hedy, an innovative programming language that makes coding accessible step by step for beginners. Hedy has grown into a global open-source project, translated into 47 languages and used in hundreds of classrooms worldwide. Even Guido van Rossum, the creator of Python, has endorsed the value of Hedy.
Felienne is the author of the internationally acclaimed book The Programmer’s Brain – What every programmer needs to know about cognition, in which she explains how people learn programming languages and how teachers and developers can better support that learning process.
In addition to her academic work, Felienne is a sought-after speaker and plays a prominent role in the public debate on digitalization, programming, and AI. She writes a weekly popular newsletter on AI, regularly contributes to various Dutch newspapers and magazines, and since the summer of 2025 has written a monthly column for de Volkskrant. She is also a board member of I&I (the Dutch association for computer science teachers) and a member of TC39, the committee responsible for the development of JavaScript. In 2021, she received the Dutch Prize for ICT Research for her groundbreaking work in accessible programming education.
Felienne speaks about the role of AI in society, from education to healthcare. She also gives workshops on AI and programming and can be booked as a chair or panel moderator.
HEDY – Creating a programming language for everyone | Codegarden 2024
Power, Technology and the Digital Society
In this lecture, Felienne examines the digital world and the power structures that manifest within it. Why is the digital world so impenetrable? Who benefits from programming being perceived as difficult and non-inclusive? And should we all constantly be immersed in the digital world? She discusses, among other things, the importance of (learning) programming and the meaning and role of AI, software, and open source in society and in science.
AI in Education
“AI is going to revolutionize education,” the promise goes. But before embracing that claim, it is worth asking a more fundamental question: what is good education, and does AI actually support it? At the same time, schools can hardly ignore AI. New curriculum goals require attention to AI literacy, and the number of tools and training programs is growing rapidly. How can teachers and schools respond thoughtfully? What role should AI play in the classroom, in homework, and in assessment, and how do you explain those choices to students? And how can you teach digital skills in a way that encourages students to create themselves and retain agency?
In this lecture, Felienne Hermans connects her expertise in computer science and AI with more than ten years of experience teaching in secondary education. She shows why, especially in times of AI, the human dimension — with attention to inclusion, autonomy, and ethics — is more important than ever.