Program in October

In the Science Year 2020|21 - Bioeconomy, the exhibition ship MS Wissenschaft is touring Germany on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. On board the MS Wissenschaft, you will gain insights into the bioeconomy, the sustainable form of economic activity that relies on renewable resources. Microorganisms and raw material cycles, new active ingredients from nature, food of the future, and political and social questions that arise on the way to a bio-based economy. Various exhibits from science and research invite you to discover, try things out, and participate.

On board the MS Wissenschaft is the exhibit “New Products from Bio-Waste" from the Department of Conversion Technologies of Biobased Resources at the University of Hohenheim. It deals with the question "How can products be manufactured from renewable raw materials without competing with food cultivation?” We can now make many products from plants instead of from oil or coal. But when we produce clothing, food storage containers, computer cases, furniture parts, medicines, and materials for batteries with biological substances, a new problem arises. Areas on which these are cultivated are no longer available for our food. But there is a way out: We can use the non-edible byproducts of the food. And the more food is produced, the more of this bio-waste is available. As long as we use the resulting products, they store carbon. If these are burned in the end, they only release as much carbon dioxide (CO2) as the plants have absorbed before to grow - they are therefore CO2-neutral.

The ship tour starts in Münster on 30 July. From there, the ship first heads for the Ruhr area and via the Rhine and Main to Franconia, then via the Danube to Straubing. This year's tour ends there on 17 October. In total, MS Wissenschaft will visit 19 cities.

Information and up-to-date news on dates: https://ms-wissenschaft.de/

Opening event and start of the exhibition on 30 July 2020

The podcast series "This is Bioeconomy!" from the University of Hohenheim is going into its 11th round! This time with Prof. Dr. Folkard Asch on the subject of skyfarming. The expert from the university's Institute of Agricultural Sciences in the Tropics (Hans Ruthenberg Institute) explains how rice can be grown in a high-rise building and the long-term and sustainable benefits this method can bring.

Length: approx. 20 minutes | Click here to listen!

Can we spin straw into gold like in the fairy tale of Rumpelstiltskin without putting valuable things at risk? Will it be possible, at least to some extent, to build a sustainable and better world and give humanity a future from materials and raw materials that have previously been ignored or considered worthless?

Speakers from different disciplines will provide answers to our global society in their respective fields. In addition to research results from internationally staffed laboratories of the future dealing with bio-matter, innovative approaches and results from architecture as well as energy and food production will be presented, using examples from the fields of water, micro-algae, straw, wood, vegetable waste, and insects as their basic materials.

But who owns the rights to these familiar "new" materials if research groups were involved in their development? Does this block economic sectors, does it set narrow limits to the political framework, or does it make a fairer world possible in terms of distributional issues under international law?

The ideas of numerous "products" originate from coincidences, ideas, visions, science fictions, or comics, from art or have been rediscovered. The conference will dare to postulate about whether these materials will succeed not only in triggering hype or even in imagining a new world, but also in influencing current technological development in a sustainable and value-adding manner and, above all, in achieving acceptance in society.

The following speakers from the University of Hohenheim are involved: Prof. Dr. Andrea Kruse, Department of Conversion Technologies of Biobased Resources at the University of Hohenheim (panel discussion with statement on the subject of "The treasure from the chicory root beet")

Due to Covid-19, the number of participants is limited. When the maximum number of participants is reached, a waiting list will be started.

Event organizer: ZKM | Center for Art and Media

Further information and registration: https://www.karlsruhe.de/b1/kultur/themen/karlsruherforum/veranstaltungen/symposium2020

The entire event will be streamed live online and will then remain accessible on YouTube and on www.karlsruher-forum.de.

The World Food Day Colloquium (WFDC) of the University of Hohenheim’s Food Security Center (FSC) takes place once a year. It will be held on 16 October to mark World Food Day (World Hunger Day), which aims to draw attention to the fact that millions of people around the world are suffering from hunger. This year, the WFDC will focus on the challenges and opportunities in our agricultural and food systems. Questions such as how different crises - such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the locust infestation in Africa, or climate change - affect food security, how they change the economy and industry and what needs to be done to ensure a fully sustainable food value chain in difficult times will be discussed and answered.

The one-week event for first-year students from all faculties, organized by the Arbeitskreis Nachhaltigkeit (AKN), offers an interesting and varied program on the topics of climate change, digitalization, and bioeconomy. The aim is to promote discussions among students from the Faculties of Agricultural Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Business, Economics and Social Sciences.

The First Semester Academy in Hohenheim is run by committed students from various fields of study and initiatives. The organization team is a broad alliance of various university groups that are concerned with the topic of sustainability.

Bioeconomy: Research focus of the University of Hohenheim and topic of the Science Year 2020/21. But what is behind this political concept? What do practical approaches to implementation look like and how sustainable is the bioeconomy actually?
Under the title “Practical thinking: What role can the bioeconomy play for sustainable change?”, representatives from science, the private sector, and journalism with discuss various aspects with you. Among others, DIE ZEIT journalist Christiane Grefe and the Spoontainable founder Julia Piechotta will be present. An event not to be missed!

The panel discussion will take place within the framework of the First Semester Academy BaWü zukunftsfähig (see https://www.ersti-akademie-bw.de/hohenheim/). It is run by committed students from various fields of study and initiatives. The organization team is a broad alliance of various university groups that are concerned with the topic of sustainability.

Hohenheim students of all degree programs are very welcome! Together with passionate fellow students and mentors, you will experience how to turn ideas into reality. On your journey you will learn from failure, work cooperatively, and tap into your entrepreneurial skills.

Making products more environmentally and climate-friendly is an important aspect of the bioeconomy. As we know, this means replacing mineral and fossil raw materials with biological, renewable materials that we produce sustainably and use innovatively. Scientists at the University are also conducting research in the field of viticulture, for example by using grape marc for food supplements or cosmetics. Prof. Dr. Christian Zörb from the Department of Quality of Plant Products at the University of Hohenheim has joined us in a video conference on this topic.

Length: approx. 20 minutes | Click here to listen!

What influence does technology* have on our diet? What role do the CRISPR gene scissors play in plant breeding? Will food be personalized and tailored to our individual needs in the future? Will we soon be printing our lunch with the 3D printer? How is meat artificially produced and with what effects?

Answers to these questions and the opportunity to experience current and future technologies will be available in October and November 2020 at Steinbeis-Haus für Management und Technologie (SHMT) in Stuttgart and online.
Under the motto "Future nutrition - looking beyond the horizon," the exhibition will show which developments and applications in the field of nutrition will be possible in the future and how they work.

On three dates, leading experts from science and industry will present various applications of technology in the field of nutrition. Prof. Dr. Thomas Miedaner, Head of the Rye Division of the State Seed Breeding Institute at the University of Hohenheim, will give a talk on "Plant Breeding of the Future - From Mendel to Genome Meditation" in Part II of the series of events.