BIOSUPPORT

Strengthening the University of Plovdiv Research Potential in Plant Systems Biology and Food Biotechnology

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Currently, the University of Plovdiv (UoP) and the Faculty of Biology (FoB) is covering a wide field of research activities which can be put under the area of plant systems biology, food testing and biotechnology. It is one of the best performing research organizations in Bulgaria in its field. It hosts very well trained core staff, with researchers that have been serving different trainings and work periods in high level European universities and have good quality publications in peer review international journals. Nevertheless UoP-FoB urgently needs to keep-up with the contemporary science in the field and to strengthen its human resources capacity and research infrastructure. The main opportunities would be more and better trained staff, better connections and dissemination of results, leading to the upgrading to a larger, better organized and much stronger research infrastructure with significant regional impact on the industry and strong partnership with leading EU research institutions. The objective of this project would be also to further consolidate the full research capacities of the UoP-FoB with the support from affiliated scientists from two other Faculties by supporting its action plan for future development in one general field which has been under development for the last 15 years by different research groups. Strong cooperation with regional SMEs and food industry as a whole would be another important objective, achieved both by inclusion of SMEs in the project team and external support from the major industry players in the country in the field of Plant and Food Biotechnology. This will be achieved by acquiring of new equipment, series of mobility of the scientists in different high quality European research institutions, secondment periods of prominent European researchers in UoP, organizing conference and workshops in key topics for the UoP, and visiting international scientific events.'

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Besides infrastructural upgrades, members of the EU-funded BIOSUPPORT project focused on developing the skills of Bulgarian researchers and increasing the visibility of UoP-FoB.

Project activities supported the training of 122 Bulgarian researchers at top-notch European laboratories and three experienced European researchers were seconded to UoP. 15 Bulgarian scientists also worked in other European research institutes. Besides promoting researcher mobility, such measures improved the knowledge base of Bulgarian researchers in relevant areas and attracted urgently needed skilled talent to UoP.

Training covered topics such as metabolomics, confocal and atomic force microscopy, chromatography and mass spectrometry. For more rounded experience, researchers also collaborated with small- and medium-sized industries (SMEs) and international research groups.

Purchase of new state-of-the-art equipment led to the organisation of eight new laboratories. In particular, the laboratory for atomic force microscopy is unique to UoP and other Bulgarian research institutes. Such infrastructural upgrades will ensure that research on plant systems biology and food biotechnology will be of high calibre.

Participation of researchers in 15 international conferences as invited speakers, seminars, three workshops and two widely attended research conferences in Bulgaria increased UoP visibility. Other dissemination activities included videos, the project website and several publications.

The BIOSUPPORT project led to the formation and strengthening of research partnerships with other research groups as well as industry. This gave rise to the development and registration of several patents, several technology transfers and formation of spin-off SMEs.

UoP now has a consolidated and more efficient research structure and capacity. This makes it more attractive to other research institutes and SMEs when it comes to partnering in research. The technology and knowledge engendered by UoP will benefit the Bulgarian region as well as Europe and increase employment opportunities in the food sciences and biotechnology sectors.