On Wednesday 20 November 2024, GenB project participated in the European Commission’s DG Research & Innovation workshop in Brussels entitled “Bioeconomy education to enable the transition to a competitive, regenerative, and fair (bio)economy. Building the next union of skills in the bioeconomy”.
This event gathered around 100 experts in bioeconomy education to discuss concrete future policy needs on this subject to be addressed in the update of the European Bioeconomy Strategy. Participants included high-level policy makers such as Joanna Drake – Deputy Director-General: Planet, People and Science for Policy – Directorate-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission, Peter Wehrheim – Head of Unit, Bioeconomy & Food Systems – Directorate-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission, Giuseppe Pellegrino – Policy Officer, Bioeconomy & Food Systems – Directorate-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission, Ioana Dewandeler, Policy Officer Higher Education – DG Education and Culture of the European Commission and Norbert Lins, Member of the European Parliament (MEP).
In this occasion, our project coordinator Chiara Pocaterra from APRE presented the project’s interim results, providing an overview of the comprehensive tools developed and initiatives implemented to support educators, youth, and stakeholders in general in fostering bioeconomy education and engagement. These resources are tailored to make bioeconomy concepts accessible, engaging, and actionable for pre-university students and broader audiences, through hands-on labs, gamified experiences, engaging educational videos, quizzes and cards, as well as a MOOC in bioeconomy designed for teachers.
Chiara also introduced the outcomes of the recent GenB workshops involving different Ministries of Education organised on 3 September and 5 November,as well as the results from the EU workshop “What’s Next for Bioeconomy Education?”, held on 28 October, which brought together experts, educators, and policymakers to discuss educational and policy recommendations for future pre-university education and communication strategies.
Additionally, our GenB Ambassador Nicholas Ferrini participated in the session dedicated to “Youth and Bioeconomy Education”, together with representatives from the Bioeconomy Youth Ambassadors and the Youth Champion of International Advisory Council on Global Bioeconomy. Nicholas presented specifically the GenB Ambassadors Program through the different activities implemented, such as TEDx pitches, large-scale events and social media campaigns. A huge relevance was given to the capacity building and mentorship activities that GenB Ambassadors received from the project, to be empowered with knowledge, tools and formats and actively take a role in their communities.
Finally, world café breakout groups were organised among the invited experts, allowing focused group discussions on critical topics. Participants divided in the different tables explored questions such as “What role can bioeconomy education play in upskilling the bioeconomy workforce of our society?” and “What policy actions can support these efforts?”. These intimate, collaborative dialogues allowed for a deeper dive into challenges and opportunities, generating targeted insights and actionable recommendations to bridge education, workforce development, and policy support for the bioeconomy at different educational levels.