Dr. Gaston Heimeriks is Assistant Professor at the Department of Innovation Studies, Copernicus Institute, Utrecht University. He has many years of experience as a researcher and policy advisor on science, technology and innovation. A common theme in his work is the understanding and governance of scientific, technological and social change in the information society. He has published on topics such as foresight, ICT methodologies, indicators, new modes of knowledge production and research policy.
Gaston Heimeriks has a background in biochemistry (MSc) and in science and technology studies (MA). He previously worked as a researcher at the University of Amsterdam and the Dutch Royal Academy of Sciences on European projects dealing with the influence of ICT on the development of the science-technology-economy system. His research resulted in a PhD at the University of Amsterdam in 2005. Gaston also worked at the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) in Seville, one of the seven scientific institutes of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, for the Dutch Advisory Council for Science and Technology Policy (AWT) and as a senior researcher at STePS Twente.
Gaston Heimeriks has been involved in the following European research activities;
- Innovation in European Offshore Wind Energy (2011-2012) analysed the Technological Innovation System of European off-shore wind energy together with the Institute for Energy and Transport of the Joint Research Centre, (European Commission).
- The EICSTES Project (European Indicators, Cyberspace and the Science-Technology-Economy System, 2000-2004), funded by the European Union (IST-20350), developed indicators of how the Science-Technology-Economy system is being affected by the growth of the Internet.
- The SOEIS project (Self-Organization of the European Information Society, 1998-2000) brought together sociological and computer science expertise to understand dynamics of knowledge production in the Information Society. (EU TSER Project PL97-1296),
I was awarded a fellowship grand at the JRC IPTS (European Commission) in Seville where I contributed to;
- PRIME NoE developed long-term research and shared infrastructures on policies for research and innovation in the move towards the European Research Area
- ERAWATCH project provided information on national and regional research policies, actors, organisations and programmes. ERAWATCH supported evidence based policy making in Europe and contributed to the realisation of the European Research Area (ERA).
- OECD globalisation and open innovation project.
Other activities
- Representative in the “European Forum for Studies of Policies for Research and Innovation” (Eu-SPRI Forum) on behalf of Utrecht University
- Reviewer for EU FP7 SSH.2012.1.1-2
- Reviewer for Research Policy, Science and Public Policy, Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Journal of Information Science, Cybermetrics.
- Member of the organising committee for the international ‘Geography of Innovation conference 2014’ in Utrecht.
- Lecturer and member of the organising board for the international EU-Spri PhD summerschool on ‘Measuring the Dynamics of Innovation Systems’, Utrecht 2013