Events

A Colloquium: Harnessing Microbial Biotechnology to drive the transition to a bio-based economy and a sustainable society

Organised by the Microbiology Society in association with other not-for-profit organisations, the EFB (the European Federation for Biotechnology), FEMS (the Federation of European Microbiology Societies, and IBISBA (the European Infrastructure for Industrial Biotechnology).

The primary purpose of the Colloquium is to engage diverse perspectives to produce policy recommendations that can be adopted to improve and accelerate the transition to a bio-based economy.  Around 40 selected participants representing academia, industry, policy and other sectors are registered to attend. The meeting will use a World Café-style methodology to maximise opportunities to gather and refine perspectives. In brief, on the first afternoon there will be short scene-setting keynotes, with the majority of the work then performed in small-group discussions of topics that will be distributed in advance. On the morning of the second day, we will discuss the outcomes, agree recommendations and work on producing the outputs for dissemination.

The scientific committee* have secured the attendance of four leading experts whose keynote presentations will frame the discussions:

  • James Philp, OECD, France
  • Seren Kell, Good Food Institute, Europe
  • Claudia Vickers, University of Queensland, Australia
  • Christine Lang, Academic, Biotechnologist, Entrepreneur, Germany.

Scientific Committee (representing Microbiology Society, EFB, FEMS and IBISBA):

  • John Morrissey, University College Cork, Ireland
  • Louise Horsfall, University of Edinburgh, UK
  • Diethard Mattanovich, BOKU, Austria
  • Paola Branduardi, University of Milan, Bicocca, Italy
  • Pau Ferrer, UAB, Spain
  • Michael Sauer, OMV AG, Austria
  • Tanja Narancic, University College Dublin, Ireland
  • Vitor Martins dos Santos, Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands

Indicative Discussion Topics for Delegates

  • Is the focus on the correct products that are required to achieve sustainability goals?
  • What new approaches are required to deliver solutions to produce alternatives to common and critical chemicals in current use?
  • Is adequate consideration given to the full impact of substrates/feedstocks that are intended to serve for the production of large quantities of bio-based products?
  • Can we imagine non-agricultural food production on a large scale?
  • What type of industrial ecosystems are required to support the future sustainable biomanufacturing sector?
  • What innovations or technologies are required to deliver a step change in the rate at which the sustainable transition happens?
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