European Bioeconomy Scientific Forum 2023
- Overview
- Registration
- Key Dates
- Programme
- Other Sessions
- Poster Session
- Venue
- Travel
- Accommodation
- Green Event
- Contacts
European Bioeconomy Scientific Forum 2023
Moving towards the transformation
The University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), as the current chair of the European Bioeconomy University Alliance (EBU), welcomes all interest parties to Vienna, Austria for the European Bioeconomy Scientific Forum 2023 – EBSF2023 on the 6th-8th September 2023.
The European Bioeconomy Scientific Forum is the biannual official event of all European Bioeconomy University Alliance’s (EBU) representatives and, for this edition, the event will focus on “Moving towards the transformation”.
Objectives of the Forum
Under the theme “Moving towards the transformation”, the objective of this scientific forum is to promote the transformation towards a sustainable bioeconomy. The event will bring together scientists, experts, policymakers, industry representatives, youth and other stakeholders from across Europe to share experiences, discuss challenges, and identify opportunities for advancing the bioeconomy transformation and contributing to the achievement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
Thematic Sessions
Green Event
The EBSF2023 is organised according to the criteria of the Austrian Ecolabel for Green Meetings and Green Events. Many visible and many invisible measures will be implemented before, during and after the event. The participants are warmly invited to endorse these efforts and support the organisers!
Further information can be found in the Green Event section.

Registration for EBSF2023
Registration for the EBSF2023 is now open!
Further information on the registration can be found below, as well as the button to access the registration platform.
Deadlines
- Early bird deadline: 29 June 2023
- Final registration deadline: 28 July 2023
Registration Fee
Early Bird | Normal | |
---|---|---|
EBU Member* | € 50 | € 75 |
General Attendee | € 75 | € 100 |
* Students, scientific and administrative personnel from the universities part of the EBU network (APT, BOKU, UEF, UHOH, UniBo, WUR, SLU, SGGW).
The registration fee for EBSF2023 includes:
- Admission to all forum sessions and seminar on 06.09.2023 and 07.09.2023.
- All refreshments during lunch and coffee breaks as listed in the programme.
- All networking and social events as listed in the programme.
Accompanying Person
Participants in the EBSF2023 are warmly welcomed to bring along friends, partners or spouses during networking opportunities and social events.
An accompanying person ticket is available for purchase and it allows the individual(s) to attend the welcome lunch and the networking evening on the 6th of September, and the welcome coffee and social dinner on the 7th of September. Please note that an accompanying person cannot attend any of the event sessions.
Childcare service
Travelling with families to Vienna on the occasion of EBSF2023 is also welcomed and supported by the event, as we strongly believe in the concept of inclusiveness. Therefore, in collaboration with BOKU Kindergarten, a childcare service will be organised during the event for children aged from 1 to 14 years old. The full costs of this service will be borne by BOKU and it will be free for all interested participants. However, the service will be activated only upon reaching a certain threshold of children overall.
If genuinely intended to utilise the service, participants can purchase a free ticket while purchasing their event ticket on the registration platform (the exact number of children per participant will be asked in the registration form when checking out). Upon reaching the pre-set threshold, all interested people will be informed in due time and, on that occasion, further details may be required.
Cancellation Policy
If payments are not received in time or, for those benefitting from tickets with reduced fees reserved for EBU members, if the proof of membership to one of the EBU partners (APT, BOKU, UEF, UHOH, UniBo, WUR, SLU, SGGW) cannot be provided in time when requested, the registration will be deleted by the organisers.
Refunding of participation fees is only possible if the cancellation is received by 45 days before the event starts – 23rd July 2023. Cancellations after this date will not be refunded. In case of refunding requests within the aforementioned deadline, the full participation fee will be refunded minus the transaction fee costs which will be borne by the applicant.
Key Dates
Event Announcement
5th April 2023
Opening of registration
30th May 2023
Call for Poster Submission
June 2023
Early-bird Registration Deadline
29 June 2023
Program Update
June 2023
Deadline for Poster Submission
End of June 2023
Notification of Poster Acceptance
July 2023
Final Registration Deadline
28th July 2023
EBSF2023
6-8th September 2023
Detailed Programme*
Agenda for Wednesday, 6th September 2023
12:00 – 13:00
Welcome Lunch & Registration
13:00 – 14:45
Session 1: Raising awareness for the transformation towards a sustainable bioeconomy
Moderated by: Marlene Nowotny, Österreichischer Rundfunk
14:45 – 15:15
Coffee Break
15:15 – 17:00
Session 2: Identifying synergies for a holistic bioeconomy approach
Moderated by: Marlene Nowotny, Österreichischer Rundfunk
17:00 – 21:30
Networking Dinner & Poster Session
Agenda for Thursday, 7th September 2023
08:30 – 09:00
Welcome Coffee & Registration
09:00 – 10:45
Session 3: Promoting the social dimension of the transformation
Moderated by: Marlene Nowotny, Österreichischer Rundfunk
10:45 – 11:15
Coffee Break
11:15 – 13:00
Session 4: Achieving the transformation
Moderated by: Marlene Nowotny, Österreichischer Rundfunk
13:00 – 14:30
Lunch Break
14:30 – 16:30
Seminar: Research and project development opportunities
18:00 – 22:00
Social Dinner and Final Remarks
Event supported by the City of Vienna
09:00 – 10:45
Workshop 1: Project Development Workshops – UPON INVITATION ONLY!
10:45 – 11:15
Coffee Break
11:15 – 13:00
Workshop 2: Project Development Workshops – UPON INVITATION ONLY!
13:00 – 14:30
Lunch Break
*Timing of the sessions and social events, as well as speakers, are subject to change. Nevertheless, such changes will be minimal and won’t affect the sessions’ structure.
Side Sessions
To maximise the opportunities offered by an in-person event and thereby reduce the environmental impact, participants are invited to organise their own internal/private sessions as side events back-to-back to the forum.
Be it a project partners’ meeting, a board meeting or a workshop for members of your network, BOKU will provide logistical support for this to happen, by identifying different solutions that can fit your needs – such as in terms of room(s) size, video conferencing, catering, etc.
Some costs might apply to renting equipment or organising catering services, which must be borne by the applicants and won’t be covered by BOKU by any means.
For inquiries, please contact the organising team.
Poster Session
This is your opportunity to showcase your work and contribute to the advancement of a greener and more sustainable future. We are pleased to announce the Best Poster Awards, recognising outstanding contributions in the field.
Young researchers, including PhD candidates and junior postdoctoral fellows, from the EBU Alliance universities (APT, BOKU, UEF, UHOH, UniBo, WUR, SLU, SGGW) are invited to submit their poster abstracts by June 29th, 2023.
Accepted posters will be displayed throughout the conference, providing an excellent opportunity to engage with a diverse audience of experts, stakeholders, and peers. In addition to this, a poster session will take place during the event where the selected researchers will be able to present their studies to the participants.
Funding
There is no funding available for the selected posters. Please, contact your home university for any grant request. For this purpose, the EBU Presidency will send invitation letters to the selected researchers wherever needed.
Deadlines
- Submission Deadline: 29 June 2023
- Notification of Acceptance: 31 July 2023
Poster Topics
Poster submissions should fall under the following topics:
- New Healthy and Sustainable Food Products and Processes: Share your findings on novel food products and sustainable processes that contribute to a healthier and more sustainable food system.
- Preventing and Reducing Food Waste to Reduce Environmental Impacts: Highlight strategies, technologies, or initiatives that tackle food waste and minimize its environmental consequences.
- Climate Smart Use of Wood in Construction: Showcase innovative approaches that harness the potential of wood in construction while minimizing its environmental impact and ensuring climate resilience, addressing viewpoints of e.g., new technologies, circularity, human wellbeing, markets, business strategies, and policies.
- Circular Bioeconomy Start-Up Villages: Ideas, tools and projects to integrate the concept of circular bioeconomy in the start-up villages concept. Visionary conceptual works for a rural innovation ecosystem within ecological boundaries based on local resources.
- Innovative Technologies for Zero Pollution, Zero-Waste Biorefineries: Demonstrate cutting-edge technologies and processes that enable biorefineries to operate with zero pollution and zero waste, maximizing resource efficiency.
- Programmed Biodegradation Capability of Biobased Materials and Products: Explore the development and application of biobased materials and products with programmed biodegradation capabilities, contributing to a circular economy.
- Raising Awareness for the Transformation towards a Sustainable Bioeconomy: Present your research, projects, or initiatives that promote and raise awareness about the transition to a sustainable Bioeconomy, specifically from a societal point of view.
Submission Guidelines:
Abstracts should be no longer than 250 words and clearly describe the poster’s content, objectives, and key findings. Please specify the topic your poster aligns with.
For more information, please contact us through our contact form.
Poster Abstract Submission Form
The event is hosted at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna – BOKU, a unique Austrian research and teaching organisation with a strong focus on renewable resources, living space and quality of life as well as food chain and health issues. BOKU innovatively combines fundamental and applied expertise in the fields of natural sciences, engineering and planning sciences, and social and economic sciences to enhance the knowledge basis for sustainable management of our natural resources.
BOKU is originally located in the North of Vienna and has three different “campuses”: Türkenschanze, Muthgasse and Tulln. EBSF2023 will take place at the Campus Türkenschanze, BOKU’s oldest and original location situated in the 18th and 19th districts, very close to Türkenschanzpark.

Main conference venue
All sessions of the forum on Wednesday, 6th September and Thursday, 7th September will be hosted in the building Türkenwirt – TÜWI (see building Nr. 6 in the illustration above) – including the seminar session on the afternoon of Thursday, 7th September.
The address of TÜWI is Peter-Jordan-Straße 76, 1190 Vienna, Austria.
Side Sessions and Workshops
All side event and workshop sessions will be hosted in the building Ilse-Wallentin-Haus – ILWA (see building Nr. 10 in the illustration above).
The address of ILWA is Peter-Jordan-Straße 82/II, 1190 Vienna, Austria.

How to reach the Conference venues
Bus lines run with a frequency of max. 10 minutes.

Because of its key position in central Europe, Vienna is easily and quickly accessible by a very wide array of means of transportation from all over Europe. Moreover, the city represents the conjunction point between Western and Eastern Europe, making it a crucial key hub linking dozens of European capitals.

Whether by train or by plane, by car, by bus or by ship on the Danube – many paths lead to Vienna.
Accommodations in Vienna
This page features a comprehensive list of hotels in Vienna that offer excellent accommodation options for your stay during the event. Each of these hotels is conveniently linked to the public transport system, ensuring easy access to the event venue within a short time frame.
Green Hotels*
* Hotels certified with the Austrian Ecolabel upheld exceptional environmental and service standards. These accommodations prioritize sustainability by sourcing food from local suppliers and practising responsible water and energy consumption, among other initiatives. For further details on green hotels, please find more here.
Other Hotels
The EBSF2023 is organised according to the criteria of the Austrian Ecolabel for Green Meetings and Green Events. Many visible and many invisible measures will be implemented before, during and after the event. The participants are warmly invited to endorse these efforts and support the organisers!
- Travel Recommendations: if possible, we invite the participants to travel in an environmentally friendly way. Therefore, we recommend choosing transportation via bus or train for trips to Vienna when travelling less than 750 kilometres (similar rules apply for BOKU Staff during business trips). Vienna has an excellent public transport system and BOKU Vienna can be easily reached by using bus lines 10A, 37A, and 40A – all very well connected with metro stations – or the InnerCityTrain S45. Less than 5 minutes of walking are necessary to reach the venue from the bus stop.
- Accommodation Recommendations: If possible, we invite the participants to choose an environmentally certified hotel (Austrian Ecolabel, European Ecolabel, EMAS, etc.). Use responsibly the environmentally friendly services offered by your hotel (e.g., change towels and sheets only when necessary, etc.) and turn off all lights and electronic devices (e.g., TV, air conditioning, heating, computers, etc.) when you leave your hotel room, even if temporarily.
- Recommendations during the event: Openly served beverages and food (e.g., food on dishes, milk and sugar without portion packaging, etc) should be preferred to reduce waste production. The waste (PET, glass, paper, metal, batteries etc.) must be disposed of via the separate collection bins at BOKU. Participants are also asked to hand in the badge/name tag at the information desk at the end of the event to make sure that they can be repurposed and used for future events.
For further questions, you can contact the organisation team or the Event Management Department of BOKU, which is in charge of the Green Meeting on site.
Thank you for your contribution!
Event Organiser
As the university chairing the presidency of EBU for 2023-2024, the event is hosted by the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna – BOKU.
The Centre for Bioeconomy of BOKU, with the support of the EBU Coordination Group, is responsible for the organisation of the event.
Contact Us
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