Maarten Trekels

Project coordinator DiSSCo Flanders / Biodiversity Data Scientist Department: Collections Contact: maarten.trekels@plantentuinmeise.be Phone: +32 2 260 09 86 Google Scholar  |  ResearchGate  |  ORCID  |  Personal web page

Maarten works at the intersection of data science and biodiversity. He helps make natural history collections accessible for research and policy through the European DiSSCo | Distributed System of Scientific Collections initiative, which aims to digitize and connect millions of specimens from museums across Europe. He also contributes to projects like B-Cubed Project and studies plant (meta-)communities as part of his PhD in mathematical biology at Stellenbosch University. Since 2025, Maarten has been co-chair of the AI&Robotics subgroup of the CETAF Information Science and Technology Committee.

Qualifications
Degrees

• MSc, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, 2009 

Employment history

• PhD Candidate, Stellenbosch University, South Africa (2023 - …)
• Biodiversity Data Scientist, Meise Botanic Garden, 2019 - ongoing
• Test, Requirements and Risks Engineer, IBA, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium, 2017-2019
• Senior Test Engineer, Septentrio NV, Leuven, Belgium, 2015-2017
• Technical Expert, Flemish Government, Brussels, Belgium, 2014-2015
• Research Scientist, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, 2009-2014

Projects

• DiSSCo Flanders (2020 - …)
• B-Cubed 

Publications
FRIS Research Portal