The BIObec project
BIObec (www.biobec.eu) was a Horizon 2020 CBE-JU project consisting of a collaboration across 19 established bioeconomy institutions across the EU. The project ran from September 2021 until February 2024.
The aim of the project was to bridge the gaps between education, industry, and innovation by developing a framework for the design of bio-based education centres (BBECs) in six regions across the EU. The project did not have the scope to establish these BBECs but to develop detailed proposals for their structure, remit & resourcing.
The Irish Bio-based Education Centre
Munster Technological University (MTU) were a key partner in this project (including leaders of WP2) and along with the Irish Bioeconomy Foundation (IBF) were tasked with the plans for a proposed Irish bio-based education centre which would be a central point to link all the actors within the Irish bioeconomy and help drive and develop the Irish bioeconomy industry.
Skills needs analysis research and reports had shown that there was no overarching mapping of bioeconomy integration into Irish education, training, and skills curricula. There was also a lack of comprehensive information on skills needs and shortages in the sector. The Irish BBEC therefore has an opportunity to meet these requirements and provide the overarching mapping of the Irish bioeconomy, specifically geared towards education.
It is envisaged that the Irish BBEC would work with all Irish bioeconomy stakeholders to coordinate and market the educational courses on offer at the various levels, acting as a coordination hub between existing educational institutions and their bioeconomy related offerings.
The Irish BBEC team are continuing to advance on the plans developed within the BIObec project with a view to launching the centre in 2024. As an all-island education centre for bioeconomy we are open to further expansion of our stakeholder network. Contact info@circbio.ie for more details.
Final Events
Several events took place in January 2024 as part of the final steps of the project and these can be read about further in the latest newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/8d8f2f8a0d9f/biobec-newsletter-10-february-2024 . These events included a webinar aimed at international students featuring case studies from the bioeconomy in the 6 different regions and the final conference where the methodology of the project was summarised.
Project Output
All the project output is available on the website. This includes the deliverables, case studies, project newsletters and communication materials. In addition, a suite of e-learning materials was prepared to make the project output more accessible. The materials include interviews with BBEC leaders, story maps of the proposed BBECs, a self-assessment tool for regions who would like to consider forming their own BBEC to assess their readiness level and video and webinar content. For more information on the project, access to e-learning materials and webinar recordings, please see the project website: www.biobec.eu