Colombian delegation visited Bio-PAT members

Between 28.11. and 05.12.2023, a delegation of 15 students and their professor David Gómez-Ríos from Universidad del Valle in Cali visited institutions in Berlin and Potsdam. Some of them are memers of the Bio-PAT network. The journey was realized with funding in the frame of the DAAD program „Study Visits by Groups of Foreign Students” and lastet in total from 24.11.-11.12.2023.

The aim was to learn more about fermentation and bioprocessing – also at larger scale -, to visit laboratories in other institutions and to discuss possible collaborations. At each institution, the Colombian students presented the Universidad del Valle in Cali and their own research projects to introduce theirselves and practice presenting in front of an unknown audience.

The first stage on 28.-29.11.2023 was the Chair of Bioprocess Engineering at TU Berlin, lead by Prof. Peter Neubauer. In two days, the students learned more about the chair and the network Bio-PAT. Further, the research groups Smart Bioproduction Grids (Simon Täuber), Process Analytical Technologies and BioPilot plant (Lara Santolin), KIWI-biolab (Dr. Annina Kemmer, Linda Cai & Judit Aizpuru), Molecular Biology & Applied Biocatalysis (Francisco De La Funte Kratzborn & Sarah von Westarp) were presented. Also time for discussions regarding possible cooperations in future was included and a lab tour was organized.

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After two days, the group went to Potsdam, visiting the working group Bioconversion at the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy in Potsdam, lead by Dr. Joachim Venus. The group visited the laboratories and pilot plant for lactic acid production and learned more about bioconversion in presentations. Finally, possible cooperations were discussed.

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The next stage on 04.12.2023 was the visit of the Chair of Brewing & Beverage Technology at TU Berlin, lead by Prof. Brian Gibson. After presentations of the Clombian students and members of the chair, a delicious cider created by PhD candidate Natalia Svedlund – who organized the whole tour – was tasted. The lunch break was followed by a tour through the laboratories and the pilot brewery and finished with final discussions.

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The next day on 05.12.2023, the group went to the Versuchs- und Lehranstalt für Brauerein in Berlin (VLB) e.V., lead by Dr. Josef Fontaine. Dr. Jan Biering and Dr. Martin Senz presented the institution with its research institutes for Beer and Beverage Production and for Biotechnology and Water. Also a deep insight into the different steps of a brewing process was given by Philipp Zeuschner.
After the theory, a tour through the VLB-building including the library (we thank Michaela Knör) and several laboratories of the VLB was given. A big thanks also to Dr. Christian Schubert for showing us special analysis methods for beverages and Florian Heukäufer for giving insights into the bottle / container testing in the field of filling and packaging technology. The tour was finalized at the brewing pilot plant with a beer tasting organized by Kurt Marshall.

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Finally, the Berlin region was left and the group travelled to Lemgo, close to Bielefeld, to visit the Future Food Factory OWL (with the parthership smart Food Technology OWL) – a research centre of the Institute for Life Science Technologies (ILT.NRW) at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts. The guests were welcomed by Prof. Jan Schneider (Head of the Life Science Technology Institute), Dr. Nele Jantz (head of the smartFoodTechnologyOWL office) and Prof. Dr. Björn Frahm and then led through the Future Food Factory OWL. In the following, the group visited the beverage technology, biotechnology and food chemistry laboratories and, among other things, were able to taste the delicious apple juice pressed by the students.
At a subsequent poster session, the Colombians were able to learn more about the current doctoral projects at the Institute for Life Science Technologies (ILT.NRW) and were enthusiastic about the insights into the research of digital methods in the life sciences sector.
After a lunch break, the delegation drove to the „Kraftwerk Land“ – a research project at the Dörentrup Innovation Center, where natural gas or hydrogen is produced with wind and solar energy. The Colombians were particularly interested in the production of sustainable energy supplies.

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Of course, also a program around the scientific excursions with visits of the cities Berlin, Dresden, Prague and others was organized.

Bio-PAT thanks all involved institutes for they hospitality and time to show the students all about fermentation and bioprocessing as well giving insights into their research and daily work.

A report in Spanish can be found HERE.