Florian Sense

Florian Sense

I'm a researcher working at the intersection of computational cognitive science, applied machine learning, and language assessment. My work focuses on how people learn—particularly how they acquire complex skills like a second language—and how to build systems that support learning at scale.

Most of my day-to-day is applied: making curricula machine readable and operationalizable, building NLP and LLM pipelines, developing models of learning and forgetting, and turning research into tools that people actually use. I care about doing this work in a way that's both methodologically serious and operationally practical.

I'm currently contracting as a senior data scientist through Infinite Tactics, working with Tiffany Myers's team at the Air Force Research Laboratory on computerized, adaptive learning for foreign language training. I co-supervise Thomas Wilschut's PhD at the University of Groningen together with Hedderik van Rijn, and previously co-supervised Maarten van der Velde's PhD (with Hedderik and Jelmer Borst). I'm open to selected research collaborations and consulting engagements. See what I do for details.

Outside of that, I maintain side projects in language learning (Picolingo) and civic technology (PaZuFa).

What I work on

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