Partner Institutions
Learn more about the EBU-Alliance, its Associated Partners and the EBU Network.
EBU Alliance
AgroParisTech encompasses the multiple dimensions of bioeconomy from agricultural production, management of land and natural resources, forestry, sustainable and healthy food systems, biotechnologies to related socio-economic sciences, implementing this vision through its research, innovation and education activities, supporting both excellence and multidisciplinarity.
As the French leading graduate school in this field, AgroParisTech offers MSc in Engineering, Master as well as PhD programmes and executive education covering bioeconomy topics in an integrative approach.
AgroParisTech is a founding member of Université Paris-Saclay and has a long-standing strategic partnership with INRA (French National Institute for Agricultural Research) for research activities.
Number of students
- 2200 students (15% international)
- 350 Ph.D. students (34% international)
Number of programmes
- 17 master programmes in French, 8 master tracks in English, 6 Erasmus Mundus Joint Master degrees, 3 masters dedicated to an international audience. 25 research units (24 joints)
- 5 departments
- 8 campuses (4 in Paris and the greater Paris area)
Relation to bioeconomy
Research
- 8 campuses in France + 1 R&D center dedicated to agro‐biotechnologies + 1 Experimental Farm + 1000 hectares Forest + 2 experimental pilot plants
- 4 key research areas: (1) Agricultural production and forestry, (2) Food and non‐food transformations, (3) Sustainable management of natural resources and the environment, and (4) Human health
Education
- Top‐level higher education institution in the bioeconomy field in France.
- Integrative vision of bioeconomy in education (we consider that – almost – all our curricula cover bioeconomy).
- At international level, we specifically developped Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree Bioceb to highlight bioeconomy dimension of our training offer.
Innovation
- Many pre‐existing collaborations both in Education and R&I with EBU partners => willingness to deepen this cooperation
- Vision encompassing all dimensions of bioeconomy, including economic and social dimensions
- Involvement in EU projects (Horizon 2020, Climate KIC, Erasmus+, LIFE, Interreg…)
- Joint research units with prestigious French research organisations (INRA strategic partner)
- > 10 Academic & Research chairs funded by socio-economic actors in bioeconomy field
- 4 business pre-incubators (Inn Labs)
- Entrepreneurship track for students
- AgroParisTech represents Bioeconomy Higher Education in the National Bioeconomy WG (organised by Ministry of Agriculture)
- Forum Vitae Entrepreneurship (AgroParisTech)
Through its 32 departments the University of Bologna invests in a multidisciplinary cross-cultural approach to bioeconomy thanks to the inseparable connection between research and teaching, the promotion of international networking and young researchers’ mobilization. The University of Bologna has dedicated a growing attention to the bieconomy R&I and is currently committed in 35 H2020 projects with a total EU contribution of over 12M€.
Moreover, the University of Bologna can count also on a considerable experience in bioeconomy education among which are worth citing: the first European Master in Bioeconomy in the circular economy, Erasmus Mundus Joint doctorate in Sustainable Industrial Chemistry, Erasmus Mundus Master Course in Chemical Innovation and Regulation and an upcoming international Master in Low Carbon Technologies And Sustainable Chemistry.
Number of students
- 86.509 students, of which 6.349 international
- 1.275 Phd Candidates
Number of programmes
- 5 campuses, 32 Departments, 5 Schools, 7 Interdipartimental Centres for Industrial Research
Relation to bioeconomy
Research
- Over 1000 researchers active in R&I in the Bioeconomy sector.
- 1st Italian University in the Bioeconomy sector.
- UNIBO is the second university in Italy for capacity of attracting EU funding: over 220 funded projects with more than 92 M€ of funding. Over 17.5 m€ in Horizon 2020, taking part to 50 projects related to bioeconomy (first University in Italy)
- Member of the Biobased Industries Consortium and only university part of the 1st flagship project on bioeconomy funded by the Bio‐Based Industries JU (BBI JU)
Education
- About 5.000 students engaged with Bioeconomy courses at Bachelor, Master and PhD level.
- Founding Member of BioCirce, the first European Master in Bioeconomy in the Circular economy. Coordinator of the Joint doctorate in Sustainable Industrym, partner of the Erasmus Mundus Master Course in Chemical Innovation and Regulation (ChIR) Master in Low Carbon Technologies And Sustainable Chemistry (LOCATE).
Innovation
- Member of the Coordinating Board of the three bioeconomy‐related National Technology Clusters on Agrifood, Green Chemistry and Blue Growth
- Contributing to the development and the implementation of the Italian Bioeconomy Strategy
- Supporting entrepreneurship through the AlmaCube incubator and innovativion hub, the ALMALABOR – digital workshop and coworking space and the AlmaEClub Open Innovation Community for Entrepreneurship of the University of Bologna
Founded in 1872, BOKU does research and teaching in managing natural resources by combining natural, technical, social and economic sciences. With this setting, BOKU addresses most of the 17 SDGs defined by the United Nations covering conservation, sustainable management of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, food security, wood-processing and biotechnology. BOKU’s trans- and interdisciplinary philosophy tackles multiple challenges and is strongly application-oriented. BOKU’s key vision is sustainable development by contributing to the transformation processes towards a bio-based green economy for Europe.
Number of students
- 12280
Number of programmes
- 26 Master Programmes, 11 Master Programmes in English (both international and national) and 8 Doctoral Programmes (including 2 Ph.D. programmes), 6 Doctoral Schools
Relation to bioeconomy
Research and Education
- More than 300 researchers are involved in approximately 200 bioeconomy related research projects
- Key areas for research and education:
* management of renewable resources including their conversation to food, feed, biological materials and bioenergy
* safeguarding food security, nutrition and health, taking into consideration the environment and securing quality of life
Innovation
- BOKU has set up a Bioeconomy Center for coordinating and communicating BOKU’s bioeconomy activities
- Entrepreneurship Center Network (ECN)
Bioeconomy is the leading research topic at the University of Hohenheim. At the three faculties (Agricultural Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Business, Economics and Social Sciences), agricultural, nutritional, and food scientists work hand in hand with physicists, biologists, biotechnologists, economists, and social scientists. They cover everything from plant and animal production to new technical processes and the necessary change processes in the economy and society.
The University of Hohenheim offers several Bachelor’s and Master’s programs in the area of the bioeconomy, including the cross-faculty Master’s program Bioeconomy.
Number of students
- 9235
Number of programmes
- 25 master programmes
Relation to bioeconomy
Research
- Graduate school BBW ForWerts (Bioeconomy in BW ‐ exploring innovative value chains)
Education
- International Master Programme: Bioeconomy. The Bioeconomy profile: covering the complete bio‐based value chain from production over conversion to markets
Innovation
- Hohenheim Research Center for Bioeconomy
- Food Technical Centre
- State Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Bioenergy
- Biorefinery pilot plant on Agricultural Experimental Station
- Coordination office Bioeconomy Research Baden‐Württemberg
- Entrepreneurial Centre: StartUp Garage (incl. Venture Weekend Bioeconomy), Transfer and Innovation Management
Wageningen University and Research (WUR) is one of the world’s leading education and research centres in the plant, animal, environmental, agro-technological, food and social sciences, and for seven consecutive times the best Agriculture University worldwide. Bioeconomy is a core area for research, education and innovation at Wageningen University and Research.
WUR counts several Educational programs in this area and this year a new MSc program Biobased Sciences has been initiated that explores the multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity of a Circular Bioeconomy.
Number of students
- In the academic year 2018/2019 the university has a total of 12439 students, of which 2769 are international
Number of programmes
- 37 Master Programmes
Relation to bioeconomy
Research
- Education Master programme: Biobased Sciences and Biosystems Engineering (and Biotechnology)
Innovation
- On‐ & Off‐campus: professional trainings
- Off‐campus: MOOCs, courses & digital programs
- Collaboration with companies, policymakers, society
- Local and global societal dialogues
- Establishing start‐ups, spin‐offs, pilots
- StartLife: Growing Food & Agtech startups into leading enterprises
Moreover, WUR offers several Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC’s) on different aspects of Bioeconomy
https://www.wur.nl/en/Research-Results/Themes/theme-biobased-economy.htm
https://www.wur.nl/en/Education-Programmes/master/MSc-programmes/MSc-Biobased-Sciences.htm
https://www.edx.org/school/wageningenx
The strategic focus of the University of Eastern Finland relating to the bioeconomy is on forests, wood and land use. Research and education in this domain focus on product and service innovations, and on the use of novel forest-, non-wood and wood-based material solutions, while addressing their ecological and social impacts. These include the sufficiency and governance of natural resources and the acceptability and responsibility of their use.
UEF has several Master’s degree programmes related to the forest-based bioeconomy, including European Forestry, Wood Materials Science, and Tourism Marketing and Management programmes. The Doctoral Programme in Forests and Bioresources, too, focuses on the forest-based bioeconomy. More than half of the students in these programmes are international students. In addition, UEF has actively developed post-grad programmes and learning ecosystems for continuing learning, as an example Bioeconomy specializing studies for bioeconomy professionals.
Number of students
- UEF has circa 30 000 students including both degree students and adult students.
- In Forest Sciences, more than half of the total enrollment as well as of Doctor’s degrees taken is by foreign students.
Number of programmes
- UEF is one of the most multidisciplinary universities in Finland with over 100 fields of study
- 21 international MSc Programmes taught in English
- 13 Doctoral Programmes (available also for international students)
Relation to bioeconomy
- UEF Bioeconomy Policy states that UEF promotes the growth of, and innovations relating to, the bioeconomy through its research and education. At UEF, the bioeconomy is seen as an extensive way of thinking and doing, that is reaching to the very foundations of society and striving for sustainable development. Investing in the bioeconomy is a way of realising the Society’s Commitment to Sustainable Development, to which the university is committed.
Research
- UEF has multidisciplinary bioeconomy research in chemical industry, food industry, forestry, nature tourism and green care, pharmaceutical industry, renewable energy, sufficiency of natural resources, water purification and distribution and wood products industry.
- Bioeconomy research communities represent different disciplines: Forests and Bioeconomy (FOBI), Sustainable Co-management of Water Resources and Aquatic Environments (WATER), Sustainable Resource Society: Circular Economy, Energy and Raw Materials (RESOURCE) and Photonics.
- Flagship UNITE, which stands for “Forest-Human-Machine Interplay”, provides forest-based bioeconomy know-how, develops geospatial technologies, and creates forest interactions by gamification.
Education
- UEF has 6 international Masters’ Degree Programmes and 3 Doctoral Programmes in the field of bioeconomy taught in English.
- Forest-based bioeconomy MSc Degree Programmes taught in English (included in the above numbers) are European Forestry MSc, Cross-Border University MSc in Forestry, Transatlantic Forestry MSc and MSc in Wood Materials Science.
- Bioeconomy specializing studies are offered and designed to complement previous degrees for people working (now or in the future) in the field of bioeconomy so that their expertise is strengthened.
- A degree programme on technology starts 2023 with a major subject on Sustainable Materials.
Innovation
- Multidisciplinary approach brings scientists and their partners from a wide range of disciplines together to address the bioeconomy.
- Interdisciplinary approach offers responsible and sustainable solutions for global challenges.
- UEF is active in regional open innovation ecosystems in bioeconomy such as GreenHub, a forest‐based bioeconomy innovation ecosystem that brings together businesses with 2 bill euros turnover (both big global companies and growing small and medium‐sized enterprises), and more than 600 forest bioeconomy experts.
- Close collaboration with policymakers, public bodies, NGOs etc. result in high impact of research and education.
- UEF is in the core of Joensuu Forest Bioeconomy Campus with Natural Resources Institute Finland, European Forest Institute and Finnish Environment Institute.
The Warsaw university of Life sciences is Poland’s biggest and oldest agricultural academic institution. The four main fields of research at SGGW are: agricultural sciences – natural sciences – engineering and technology – social sciences.
The experts at modern research centres and laboratories allow SGGW to achieve excellence in education and research and to create a lasting impact on society.
Number of students
- 16,000 active students
Number of Programmes
- 40 full time programmes
- 23 part time programmes
- 9 programmes in English
Campus
- 14 Faculties, 16 Institutions, a Doctoral School, 8 research and development centres and 6 experimental stations
Education in Bioeconomy
Bioeconomy has been integrated into the elective courses at the Faculty of Forestry at SGGW and has become a compulsory module for students of logistics. In the field of Sociology and Pedagogy the Bioeconomy and its effects are addressed on the level of local communities.
Bioeconomy Related Research Projects
- potatoMetabiome
- Smart Villages
- Tech4Effect
- Folk High Schools
Bioeconomy defines The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in its identity and its goals. SLU is a world-class international university whose research is firmly focused aspects of the natural environment that form the foundations of our existence: clean water, a living landscape, sustainable food production, high standards of animal welfare and sustainable cities. We bring together people who have different research perspectives, but they all have one and the same goal: to create the best conditions for every living thing on our planet.
Sustainable use of natural resources is common denominator for all four faculties at SLU. Research and education at SLU encompass multiple levels and aspects of bioeconomy, ranging from primary production of biomass, biobased raw materials and hybrid materials, value chains and human dimensions of natural resource management (e.g., agriculture, animals, forest, landscape, and water).
Number of Programmes
- 46 Education programs, many of which focus on the Bioeconomy
Number of Students
- 4216 full time students (2020)
A Range of Bioeconomy Related Educational Programmes, e.g. :
- New Master program in Forest Bioeconomy in 2024
- Research School: Bioeconomy-adapted forest management
- Forest and Landscape Management in Collaboration with Wageningen University and Research
Facilitating Innovation Support
Through SLU Holding hundreds of innovation projects are supported annually.
EBU Network
The BIOEAST Initiative is a joint policy undertaking of Central Eastern European Countries.
Its Mission statement for 2030 is: to develop knowledge and cooperation based circular Bioeconomies, which help to enhance their inclusive growth and to create new value-added jobs especially in rural areas, maintaining or even strengthening environmental sustainability.
Goals
- Increasing Biomass production sustainably to become competitive and lading high-quality food and feed producers worldwide.
- Creating circular (“zero waste”) processing of the available Biomass, to become key players in the development of biobased value chains.
- Developing an innovative, inclusive and climate ready growth model for viable rural areas.
Member countries
Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Republic of Estonia, Romania, Slovenia
Thematic working groups
Croatia
Czech Republic
Hungary
Poland
Slovak Republic
Bioplastics hold huge potential in making our society more sustainable. For almost every conventional plastic there is a bioplastic equivalent for it. That is why European Bioplastics is promoting a growing market for bioplastics.
By bringing together relevant stakeholders from the entire bioplastics value chain, they act as a knowledge and business platform for their members. Today they represent around 70 member companies from all around Europe.
Objectives
- Aiming at beneficial policy and economic frameworks to enable the further development of bioplastic technologies and markets
- Promoting coherent standards, certifications and guidelines for transparent to ensure full transparency about bioplastics and their environmental benefits and impacts
- Advocating for the sustainable primary production of biomass for the further processing into bioplastics
- Supporting the implementation of a better waste management infrastructure to improve recycling and recovery systems for an enhanced circularity of resource streams
Working Groups
Consisting of experts from member companies, their goal is to share knowledge within topics of interest and to prepare the internal decision making process and knowledge management of the association.
- Product Group Biobased
- Product Group Biodegradable
- Working Group Communications
- Working Group Regulatory Affairs
- Working Group Standardisation
- Temporary specific Ad-hoc Working Groups
EFI is an international organisation established by European states, conducting research and providing policy support on issues related to forests. The EFI convention has been ratified by 30 European states, and the institute has c. 130 member organisations in 42 countries.
EFI facilitates and stimulates forest-related networking and promotes the dissemination of unbiased and policy-relevant information on forests and forestry. It advocates for forest research and for the use of scientifically sound information as a basis for forest policies.
EFI supports the transition to a sustainable bioeconomy by helping to
- understand future markets for forest products
- assess the sustainability of value chains for forest products and services
- link climate smart forest management to products and services under climate change
- promote science-policy dialogues on sustainable bioeconomy development
International Partnerships Facility
The International Partnerships Facility is a global centre of knowledge and expertise that supports policy and governance reforms to safeguard the world’s forests. It facilitates partnerships between producing and consuming countries to foster legal, deforestation-free and sustainable timber, and agricultural commodity production and trade.
Consisting of regions dedicated to advance towards a Bioeconomy, it promotes transregional cooperation for a sustainable transition towards a forest-based Bioeconomy. By monitoring the development of goals and sharing approaches and lessons between members, the Bioregions Facility ensures maximum impact.