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Event
Symposium “Modern Application of Biotechnology 2010” at the DAAD branch office in Beijing
17 September 2010 — 18 September 2010
DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service)
On 17 and 18 September 2010 the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) will host a scientific symposium on modern applications of biotechnology at its branch office in Beijing. The symposium will serve as the basis of a German-Chinese biotechnology network, aimed to promote scientific exchange in this important research field.
The event is one in a long tradition of subject-specific DAAD alumni conferences; the first "biotechnology conference" took place in Shanghai in 2004. German and Chinese scientists and researchers from all areas of biotechnology have been invited to attend the upcoming conference. Most of them are DAAD alumni and have a long-standing relationship with Germany’s academic and research community. The event will begin with several scientific lectures, presented by groups of young binational researchers. These young binational researchers are supported by the specialist programme "Modern Applications of Biotechnology" – a joint venture of scientific-technological cooperation established by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The goal of these joint ventures is to promote application-based biotechnology projects which lead to concrete results within five years and spur economically profitable developments. The China National Center for Biotechnology Development (CNCBD) oversees the Chinese side of the programme, and the DAAD is responsible for the German side.
Each of the six German subgroups has been allocated approximately 1.3 million euros for a period of up to five years. The funding will go toward covering the costs of investments, personnel, travel, publications and patents, as well as organising conferences and summer schools. The basic financing for the Chinese subgroups is guaranteed by the MOST, while the German subgroups receive their funding from the BMBF.
The groups are pursuing research projects in a wide range of biotechnological areas. For example, young researchers from the Universität Ulm are cooperating with colleagues from the Academy of Military Medical Sciences Beijing to investigate the function of certain intestinal bacteria and their interaction with the host’s immune system. The researchers hope to use their findings to develop new applications for the food industry. Another group, comprised of young researchers from the FU Berlin and the Chinese Agricultural University Beijing, is studying how to fertilise rice plants more efficiently with nitrate-based fertilisers in order to increase agricultural production. The goal of another project, led by young researchers from the TU Dresden and the First Affiliated Hospital at Sun-Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, is to develop bone substitutes for treating fractures, for example, which improve the rate and strength of bone regeneration.