07.10.2008 [6 / 2008]

“BIOTechnikum. Investigate life – design the future”

Hannover – How do we produce pharmaceuticals? How does biotechnology contribute to the manufacturing of stonewashed jeans? What career opportunities are available in life sciences? These questions and many more will be answered by the campaign “BIOTechnikum. Investigate life – design the future”, an initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Visitors of BIOTECHNICA 2008 can experience its wide range of information first hand. From Tuesday, 7 October to Thursday, 9 October 2008 the mobile exhibition is open to the public at the leading European Biotechnology Trade Fair. Everyone is invited to explore the mobile experience world, learn about Biotech in Germany and gain insight into a fascinating key technology of the 21st century from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.      

The new initiative “BIOTechnikum” is bringing biotechnology closer to the people, in the truest sense of the word. This campaign, as part of the Federal Government’s High-Tech Strategy, will be travelling the length and breadth of Germany to supply information on the latest biotechnological research conducted and results achieved in Germany as well as to highlight career opportunities and encourage budding scientists. The central information and dialogue platform for this venture will be the mobile experience world BIOTechnikum, a double-decker vehicle containing, among other things, a complete laboratory infrastructure accompanied by a multi-media exhibition. This will enable the initiative to create room, at various events, for dialogue about biotechnology.

It is one of the most dynamic branches of science and one of the most innovative sectors of business with a high demand for qualified personnel. What makes it stand out is not just the rapid advances being made, but also its long tradition. For these reasons, and because of the diverse ways in which it can be used, biotechnology affects every one of us in our everyday lives, whether in health and nutrition, in agriculture or in production and conservation. It is therefore these three worlds that, together with an overview of the structure and vocational fields of biotechnology in Germany, will form the core themes of the initiative “BIOTechnikum. Investigate life – design the future”. It will demonstrate the correlation between research, on the one hand, and the development of new products and procedures, on the other, along biotechnological value chains.

Visitors will be able to try their hand at research in a biotechnology lab practical under the guidance of scientists accompanying the project. They will have access to a complete laboratory infrastructure in the exhibition vehicle – from pipettes and centrifuges to fermenters and right through to PCR equipment for copying and analysing DNA molecules. Up to twenty people at the same time will have the opportunity to conduct experiments and, for example, to extract the building block of life, DNA, from peas, to produce cheese and to generate electricity from yeast. Because the experiments will be tailored to existing knowledge and interests, each participant will be able to approach biotechnological research in his or her own way.
 
Hands-on science will also be offered by the exhibition in the mobile experience world. During open days, workshops, information events and guided exhibition visits, it will explain the fundamental principles, vocational fields, research areas and applications of biotechnology. So that varying needs can be met here too, the exhibition will comprise several elements designed to help create flexibility in the depth of the information provided. Basic knowledge and concise examples will be supplied by theme displays; multimedia terminals will be available for retrieving additional information and offerings – from biotechnological areas of research, such as genome research or bionics, to applications and career opportunities and right through to the Biotech Quiz. And finally, there will be exhibits to make biotechnological research a more tangible experience: plastic animal, plant and bacteria cells, state-of-the-art microscopes and the “Bodymover”. With this educational multimedia game, visitors will move virtually within a cell by making movements with their actual bodies. This will take them on a fun journey of discovery inside cell components and the world within.

The scientists accompanying the BMBF initiative will give several lectures about the research being conducted in modern biotechnology in Germany. They will discuss a number of specialist topics and also provide a basic introduction to biotechnology with details of the various training, study and job opportunities available. This will give school pupils, in particular, a platform in the campaign from which to gain an insight into activities and career prospects in life sciences and to discuss these with experienced scientists. The top floor of the mobile experience world will create space for dialogue: schools and universities, the scientific and business communities, politicians and the public are all invited to engage in an open discussion – about biotechnological innovations, hopes and fears and the importance of life sciences for our future. With its combination of information and dialogue, research and real life, “BIOTechnikum. Investigate life – design the future” offers a mobile forum for biotechnology.

The initiative’s offerings will be accompanied by, among other things, a campaign flyer and a brochure providing details about the initiative as well as a clear and straightforward explanation of the basics of biotechnology. More information on the initiative can also be found online at www.biotechnikum.eu: on this campaign website, young people can discover training and study opportunities involving biotechnology, interested parties can view upcoming stops on the tour and event organisers can submit requests for a visit from the mobile experience world. All offerings in relation to “BIOTechnikum. Investigate life – design the future” will be free to visitors.