20 Years of German-Polish Partnership: Circular Bioeconomy Symposium at the ICB in Offenburg
20 Years of German-Polish Partnership: Circular Bioeconomy Symposium at Hochschule Offenburg. For two days, everything at Hochschule Offenburg revolved around the sustainable technical solutions of tomorrow: To mark the 20th anniversary of the joint master’s programs in Process Engineering and Biotechnology, the Circular Bioeconomy Symposium brought together students, alumni, faculty, researchers, and representatives from business, politics, and society.
To kick off the event, the presidents, Prof. Dr. Stephan Trahasch (Hochschule Offenburg, HSO) and Prof. Dr. Jerzy A. Przyborowski (University of Warmia and Mazury, UWM), as well as Dr. Andreas Kiesel from the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Environment, Climate, and Energy, welcomed the visiting guests. Dr. Andreas Wilke, director of the Institute for Circular Bioeconomy at Hochschule Offenburg, then described the development of scientific collaboration over the past 20 years, including jointly organized conferences, academic exchanges, and cooperative research projects in the field of the bioeconomy.
The high-caliber scientific program spanned four specialized sessions: biocatalytic approaches to sustainable process management, advanced biogas and power-to-gas technologies, thermal conversion concepts for CO2 avoidance, and environmental analytics.
Over the course of two days, speakers from the Universities of Offenburg and Olsztyn, as well as representatives from the industry, presented the diversity of the modern bioeconomy. In addition to academic insights, renowned industry partners—including Picea Biosolutions, Biogas Besgen GmbH, and the DVGW Technology Center for Water in Karlsruhe—provided exciting practical perspectives. The broad spectrum of the 14 technical presentations impressively demonstrated how research and industry are jointly advancing sustainable solutions.
The scientific program was rounded out by a diverse poster session: 28 scientific presentations provided insights into the topics of the specialized sessions. In concise, one-minute presentations, the researchers introduced their work, thereby sparking lively discussions during the coffee breaks as a means of specialization.
How can research be made accessible? In the workshop “Gamification for Science Communication,” 26 students and early-career researchers used the Octalysis framework to understand basic human motivations. Building on this, they developed playful approaches to make science more tangible and understandable.
In addition to the subject-specific insights, the focus was primarily on networking and personal exchange. Researchers from both universities took advantage of a matchmaking workshop to pool their scientific expertise and develop concrete ideas for new, joint research projects.
At the same time, the symposium provided the perfect setting for a reunion across generations: alumni and students specialized in their networks, shared experiences, and looked back together on two decades of successful German-Polish cooperation in the bioeconomy.
