Biotechnology students from five European countries recently joined forces for the BIOSHIELD Pre-Piloting Online Training, a key milestone in the Erasmus+ project "Novel Biotechnological Solutions in Climate Change Mitigation". This five-day international event, coordinated by the Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH), aimed to equip the next generation of bioscientists with the tools to address environmental crises through cutting-edge innovation.
The training activity was designed to bridge the gap between academic theory and the practical demands of the biotechnology industry. Participants from Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University (COMU), Ionian University (IU), University of Maribor, and University North (UNIN) engaged in intensive sessions focused on Climate Change Mitigation, Plant Biotechnology, Carbon Sequestration, and Industrial Biotechnology. The week concluded with a high-energy Hackathon, where students collaborated across borders to brainstorm and develop biotechnological solutions for real-world industrial challenges.
The activity saw successful participation from 90 unique students, with many individuals achieving full attendance across all sessions and the final Hackathon. Notable full-attendance participants included Vasiliki Boultadaki (DUTH), Akikat Dimagambetov (COMU), and Andriana Argyrakou (IU). This pre-piloting phase serves as a foundation for the upcoming local piloting of the "Biotech Student’s Guide to Future Projections" handbook and the further development of student research projects and prototypes