andrea

Personal information

Name

Andrea Bandelli

Short bio

After working for NewMetropolis, the science center in Amsterdam (now ‘NEMO’) from 1995 to 1999 as internet specialist first, and then as manager for international projects, I became manager for the Science Learning Network, a worldwide on-line community of educators, students, schools, science museums and other institutions pursuing a new inquiry-based science education model. From 2000 to 2004, I was project manager of BIONET, an international project to encourage public debate on controversial ethical, legal and social issues in the field of contemporary life sciences. The project was available in 10 languages and was developed by 8 European science museums. Visitors to the website could study the latest scientific techniques and participate in online debates, as well as play interactive games, watch animations and videos and complete thematic quizzes.
Since 2004, I have been leading DECIDE, a project to develop and facilitate adult engagement in participative discussions and debates on contemporary science. Funded by the European Commission, it is currently implemented throughout Europe, in Canada, USA, and other countries worldwide.

I am an advisor for various science education projects and institutions in Europe and the USA, and for the national research foundation of South Africa. I was the coordinator of the academic program for the first African Science Communication conference in 2006, and I am currently a member of the program committee. I am also an advisor and project developer for the new Miami Museum of Science, and a partner for NISE, the Nanoscale Informal Science Education network.

I have written various articles on public engagement with science and informal learning which have been published by the Nobel Foundation, the Science Museum in London and in several journals including ASTC Dimensions, Museologia, the Journal of Museum Education and Museum Management and Curatorship.

I am currently doing a PhD research at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam on the role of the public in the governance of science centers and museums. Previously, I completed a postgraduate degree in Science Communication from SISSA-ISAS International School for Advanced Studies, Trieste, Italy, with a dissertation titled “The knowledge agency: a new role for science communication.”

History

Member for

3 years 21 weeks