The board of Science Gallery International (SGI) have today announced that it has appointed Andrea Bandelli, an international thought-leader on public engagement with science and long-time contributor of the Ecsite network, as the new CEO of SGI. Bandelli, who will take up the post on May 1st, is a practiced leader in science communication and education who has led major collaborative projects alongside prominent institutions worldwide.
Irish non-profit Science Gallery International (SGI) was founded in Ireland in 2012 with the support of Google.org, and the goal of establishing a Global Science Gallery Network with eight nodes worldwide by 2020. The role of SGI is to bring Science Gallery experiences to a global audience by supporting and enabling leading research universities located in key urban centres worldwide to develop a new platform for public engagement and cross-disciplinary creativity, based on the Science Gallery model pioneered at Trinity College Dublin. The first new gallery will open at King’s College London in 2017, followed closely by galleries in Bengaluru (Bangalore) and Melbourne. SGI is continuing discussions with a number of potential locations in the USA, Asia and Europe. SGI provides development services to selected universities to support them in establishing a Science Gallery, including business planning, strategic engagement, fundraising, and training services.
Bandelli takes up the role of CEO just months after SGI announced Melbourne as the fourth of eight Global Science Gallery Network nodes to be developed by 2020. Based on the approach pioneered at Trinity College Dublin, the first new gallery will open at King’s College London in 2017, followed closely by galleries in Melbourne and Bengaluru (Bangalore) by 2018.
Dr Michael John Gorman, who has led the development of Science Gallery at Trinity College Dublin since its inception in 2007, and was Founder and CEO of Science Gallery International leaves in May to take up a new role in Munich, but will remain involved with Science Gallery International in a non-executive role as Chairman of the SGI Executive Council.
Commenting on the appointment, Chris Horn, Chair of SGI said “We are delighted to announce Andrea Bandelli as CEO of Science Gallery International at this exciting point in the development of the Global Science Gallery Network. Andrea has a deep appreciation of the interplay of science and the arts and is respected internationally for his work directing collaborative projects that aim to provoke public engagement, creativity and discovery.”
Commenting on the achievements of outgoing CEO, Horn added “Dr Michael John Gorman has been a visionary founding force for Science Gallery. We wish him the greatest success with his new role in Munich, and are delighted that he will continue to play an important role with Science Gallery International as Chair of the Executive Council, an advisory forum for Science Gallery Directors.”
Andrea Bandelli said “I am thrilled to be taking on the role of CEO at Science Gallery International. It combines my two professional passions - innovation in public engagement with science, and building partnerships and collaborations. Through my own work I have seen the Science Gallery approach first developed at Trinity College Dublin grow to become a leading model for public engagement with science and art. Now, I want to bring this approach to all five continents, and ensure that the Global Science Gallery Network continues as a model of collaboration and innovation in public engagement. It will be a great honour to lead the team taking this approach worldwide - I’m excited at the potential to empower millions of people worldwide with transformative Science Gallery experiences.”.
Having championed the use of internet as a collaborative educational platform in schools and museums in Italy in the early 1990s, Bandelli worked on the development of both the science center NEMO in Amsterdam and the Miami Museum of Science, and became a partner of NISE, the Nanoscale Informal Science Education network, working with the Exploratorium in San Francisco. He has led, managed and evaluated several international projects linked with science, art, democracy and public participation — many in collaboration with Ecsite, the European network of science centers and museums. Bandelli has written widely on public engagement with science and he is conducting doctoral research on scientific citizenship and the role of public participation in science centers.
Dr Michael John Gorman, commenting on the appointment, said "I can’t think of anyone better qualified than Andrea Bandelli, a key figure in our field, to lead SGI through its next exciting chapter. I look forward to working with Andrea and the Global Science Gallery Network in my new role as Chair of the Executive Council."
Bandelli, who is currently based in the Netherlands, will be relocating to Dublin to take up the appointment as CEO full-time on 1 May.