He received the AM Award, Member in the General Division of the Order of Australia, for significant service to the STEM education in Victoria (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
Mr Pakakis was born in the island of Rodos in 1962 and migrated to Australia with his parents in early 1964. He was a lonely child and attributes his education and success in life to his migrant parents.
“My father was a factory worker and my mother a dressmaker (μοδίστρα). The motto at home was education-education-education (γράμματα-γράμματα-γράμματα) because they did not want me to end up a factory worker”, Mr Pakakis tells SBS Greek.
Mr Pakakis is Founding Director of the Victorian Space Education Centre (2006). Since 2016 he is the Assistant Principal. Prior o the that he held various positions as teacher (since 1985).
In his interview he pays tribute to his co-workers for the award he received and explains how he came about to the learning space a san alternative to the traditional “classroom”.
