WE: THE DIGIT-BIOTECH PARTNERSHIP

“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.”

Henry Ford

The applicant and coordinator of the Digit-BioTech project – Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski  (Assoc. Prof. Ventsislava Petrova, Email: vpetrova@biofac.uni-sofia.bg) – is the first university in Bulgaria and a leading national center in the higher education and research in fundamental and applied science, social sciences and the humanities. It is the largest university in Bulgaria with 102 degree programmes offered by 16 faculties. Lecturers and researchers conduct research in almost all fields of natural and social sciences, with one of the leading directions being biotechnology, agriculture and environmental technologies. Sofia University offers degree courses in almost all major domains of modern biotechnology: industrial biotechnology, agricultural biotechnology, food and medical biotechnology. Currently, research teams from the Sofia University are leaders and participants in over 30 international and national research projects funded by the EU programmes, National Science Fund and private partnerships. The researchers are recognized experts in biotechnology and environmental sciences and participate in the implementation of projects and measures within various programmes such as Horizon 2020, ERASMUS+, “Environment”, “Natura 2000”, etc.

R&D Center “Biointech”  (Assoc. Prof. Anna Kujumdzieva, Email: akujumdzieva@gmail.com) is established with the mission to unify the efforts of highly qualified professionals in tuition, research, development and popularization activities in the field of biotechnology, environment protection, healthcare. It promotes the collaboration of different training settings dealing with higher and continuous education through the use of ICT in Europe. It has working relationship with employers to support the career prospects of trainees and has set up an effective feedback system. Staff members of R&D Center “Biointech” have experience in writing textbooks and other training materials, preparation of quality assurance guides and documentation, curriculum development, implementation of new IT-based training techniques, introduction of the instruments of the European and National Qualification Frameworks. The Center has expertise in the production, application and economic planning in the area of industrial and green biotechnology and sustainable environment, as well as in the design and implementation of microbial fermentation processes for production of biologically active compounds. R&D Center “Biointech” works closely with biotechnology companies, environmental scientists, hazardous waste technicians, engineers, and other professionals to address various environmental problems.

SMART Project and Consulting Ltd. (Nia Petrova, Email: niakpetrova@gmail.com) is a consulting company which provides strategic solutions to its customers who wish to successfully manage and grow their business in accordance with the international quality standards. It offers a full range of services aimed at helping all types of organizations, with the aim of enhancing competitiveness and sustainable growth. Its activities are mainly devoted to the biotechnology industry and other related economic sectors in the establishment and implementation of good managing practices (ISO 14001, ISO 9001, ISO 22000, FS 22000, IFS, BRC and ISO/IEC 27001, etc.). SMART Project and Consulting Ltd. main activities are focused on offering multidisciplinary services aimed at developing policy, assessing impact, creative design and implementation, gaining regulatory approvals, managing risk and others. Company delivers corporate and project environmental programmes, development strategies, effective operational management practices and reports on performance. Through groundwork and project management of EU funds and programmes, SMART Project and Consulting Ltd. has expertise in feasibility assessment of various operational programmes, development of overall project documentation and project management. The company offers also seminars and trainings on the international standards and current social issues by highly experienced speakers in the respective fields who successfully combine theoretical knowledge and practical skills.

University of West Attica (UNIWA)  (Dr. George Dounias, Email: gdounias@uniwa.gr) was founded in March 2018 by the National Law 4521. The foundation of the newly established University resulted from the merging process of the former Technological Educational Institute of Athens and the Piraeus University of Applied Sciences. At UNIWA, there are twenty-seven Departments operating under the academic umbrella of five Schools, covering a wide range of scientific fields, such as social, administrative and economic sciences, engineering sciences, health and welfare sciences, as well as food sciences and applied art and culture studies. One of this departments is the National School of Public Health which was founded in Greece in 1929 with the aim to provide training, post-graduate training and specialized training for health professionals, as well as to study scientific and technical issues of public health. NSPH carries out research in all fields of public health and preventive medicine, conducts public health and laboratory research and tests. The National School of Public Health serves the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Social Services and other sections of the civil services sector in Greece with its expertise on matters within its competence. The National School of Public Health offers courses in various topics concerning public health within programmes in: public and environmental health; public and environmental health management; occupational health; health and environmental engineering. The School’s staff has vast teaching and administrative experience to contribute to the development and implementation of competence-based collaborative blended learning model, transfer and elaboration of the products and outcomes, and valorization methods and techniques.

SOKO-Institut für Sozialforschung und Kommunikation (Dr. Rainer Paslack, Email: paslack@t-online.de) is an owner-managed company based in Bielefeld. The SOKO Institute is a medium-sized social research institute mostly dealing with primary empirical research on behalf of government departments, universities and other institutions. It performs quantitative and qualitative studies and evaluates the collected data. The SOKO Institute’s research priorities are in the labor market and social policy, educational policy and the renewable energy sector. The Institute is also highly engaged in ethical and environmental and health research with a special focus on sustainable development and corporate social responsibility. The SOKO Institute cooperates closely with CELLS (Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences) at the Leibniz University of Hannover (LUH) and with the IALS (International Academy of Life Sciences) at the Hannover Medical School (MHH). The high quality of the conducted research and the experience of its researchers make the SOKO Institute a preferred partner in various European projects.

Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna  (Prof. Diana Di Gioia, Email: diana.digioia@unibo.it) was founded in 1088 and is an internationally recognized university center for science and the arts. In its five campuses in the Emilia Romagna region and in the branch in Buenos Aires, the University of Bologna offers over 200 degree programmes among its 32 Departments to over 81,000 students. 5,000 graduates are enrolled in PhD and other post-graduate programmes. Researchers participating in the Digit-BioTech project, work at the Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DISTAL). Founded in 2012, DISTAL hires 145 teaching staff members and 100 administrators and technicians. Research at DISTAL spans across several topics including primary and food production, sustainable plant defense and environmental protection. DISTAL has a large and advanced expertise in environmental protection and in the definition of sustainable strategies for its preservation and clean-up. The role of DISTAL is to integrate biotechnological approaches with mitigation approaches based on natural strategies, keeping the focus on sustainability.