Jan De Voght (Port of Antwerp-Bruges) from Cotonou to Swiss CERN

Nieuws, People
Julie Desmet
Jan De Voght

Jan De Voght has been working at CERN in Switzerland since 1 November 2022. That research centre does fundamental research on elementary particles. Before that, De Voght spent more than four years as technical director at the Port of Cotonou in Benin.

“We moved with the whole family from Cotonou to Switzerland on 29 October 2022,” says Jan De Voght. “CERN (Centre for Nuclear Research in Geneva) is pretty much the ‘Holy Grail’ within an engineering school. It is the largest laboratory in the world and the reference in terms of technology and research. I have always followed CERN’s operations, activities and publications from a distance. When I saw a vacancy for ‘head of CERN’s electrical infrastructure’ at the beginning of this year, I immediately knew that this job was made for me. Although I really enjoyed working for Port of Antwerp, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I took up the challenge.”

Created universe

“CERN not only has the fantastic mission of conducting research into the origin of the universe, but has also proven its added value in other research areas. I am thinking of applications for medical imaging and improving radiation detection and protection,” he says. “That you as an engineer can contribute to this is incredible. All experiments are powered by electricity. As head of electrical infrastructure, I have a leadership role and am responsible for the development, maintenance and operations of the high-voltage and low-voltage network.”

Work in Cotonou

De Voght is an electrical engineer by training. In August 2007, he started working as a

“I left Cotonou with a lot of work to do,” he jokes. “A lot has already been achieved of which I am particularly proud. I will always be grateful to the Antwerp Port Authority for giving me this opportunity. It was a fantastic experience.”

Satisfaction

Since 2018, the Cotonou port authorities have called on the expertise of Port of Antwerp – known today as Port of Antwerp-Bruges – to transform the port into a modern port. “There was so much to do and we had so much impact on the port of Cotonou, you could see ideas becoming reality on a daily basis. I got a lot of satisfaction from that,” he says.

At peace

“In Cotonou, I was mainly responsible for maintenance and investment projects,” he continues. “I also saw to it that worn-out infrastructure was replaced in time. We were constantly striving to make the port ready for the future so that it could compete with other ports and neighbouring countries. My former colleagues, including port director Joris Thijs, have also become good friends over the years. I ran parallel with my successor for about two months and was able to leave the Port Authority with peace of mind and in good spirits.”

Port

The connection with Antwerp remains strong. “My brother-in-law works in the Port of Antwerp. The first thing I always do when I travel, too, is visit the port,” he says. “The port captures my imagination and the maritime sector is fantastic. I will miss the maritime world, the collegiality and that drive, but am sure I will also find those wonderful aspects at CERN.”

This article was automatically translated from the Dutch language original to English.