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Services

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Erik Jacquemyn is a leading expert in science communication and in science centres, science and interactive museums. Having visited hundreds of science centres all over the globe, he has acquired an excellent expertise in the field.

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He provides consulting internationally on:

• Start-up of new science centres

• Strategies in renewing, rethinking, developing science centres, museums and experience centres

• Feasibility studies & business plans for science centres

• Evaluation of science centres

• Operation of science centres Governance

• Development of Outreach

• Project development & project management

• Program development

• Creative science communication projects

• Interactive learning experiences

 

Depending upon the assignment, he cooperates with other experts in the field.

 

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Expertise

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He launched the idea and is the founder of Technopolis, the Flemish Science Centre that opened its doors in 2000 and of which he was the CEO until 2016.

 

Since the beginning of the century, more than 100 colleagues and future colleagues from all over the globe benefitted from the advice that Erik Jacquemyn provided them with. Several of them called upon Jacquemyn’s expertise at the start and/or in the further course of the development of their science centre project. A number of the new projects later on actually became successful science centres.

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He led several national and international cooperation projects.

Erik Jacquemyn participated in dozens of conferences within the science centre field as well as the science communication field at large, most of the time as speaker.

 

International scope

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On a global scale, Jacquemyn is quite well known. He is appreciated by colleagues worldwide for his creativity, his ability to think out-of-the box and his dedication.

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Erik Jacquemyn has always been very active in the global science communication and science centre field.

His international reputation reached the top when in 2010, he was chosen to host the 1st Science Centre World Summit to be held in 2014. As a result, in 2011, he became Chair of the International Program Committee, that prepares and coordinates the Summit and he was already a member since 2008.

This Science Centre World Summit turned out to be a success beyond expectations and was as such recognized both by the science centre world as well as by the global business community and policy makers such as UNESCO and by partner associations such as ICOM (International Council of Museums) and OAS (Organization of American States).

Together with his colleagues in the editorial team, he wrote the Mechelen Declaration, the global action plan for local science centres which was signed by the various international science centre networks in March 2014.

 

Recognition of the field and serving the field

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In 2014, he received the ASTC Roy L. Shafer Leading Edge Award for Experienced Leadership in the Field, an award that is presented in recognition of extraordinary accomplishments in the field.

 

Jacquemyn was elected as Board member of ASTC, (Association of Science-Technology Centers), the global association of science centres: he served on the Board from 2003 till 2011. He was member of the ASTC Executive Committee from 2009 until 2011. In the same period, he was also Chair of the International Committee of ASTC.

 

He was already member of the Board of Ecsite, the European Network of Science Centres and Museums in 1998. From 2003 until 2008, he was Chair of the Program Committee of the Ecsite Conference, and in that capacity he attended the Ecsite Board meetings. During these years, the Ecsite Conference grew considerably and evolved from a conference with a few 100 participants to an event with 1000 attendees. The organization of the European Conference for Science Centres in Mechelen, the home town of Technopolis, in 2006 was one of the highlights in his international trackrecord.

He was re-elected as Ecsite Board member from 2008 until 2013.

 

Background

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Erik Jacquemyn started his career as adviser to the Minister-President of the Flemish Government, Gaston Geens. In 1985. He was responsible for the organization of the technology trade fair Flanders Technology International until 1999. Since the beginning of the nineties he developed, together with his team, numerous activities in the field of science communication such as the Flemish Science Week, the Science Truck, the Science Festival, Science contests ….