BIObec

Summary

Europe’s shift to a low-carbon economy is a welcome one; at the same time, the shift to a bioeconomy will create new jobs and stimulate growth in an emerging economy sector. Unlocking the full potential of the bioeconomy and its value chains in order to realise its full potential will require new skills and new competencies. This is creating a demand for education to deliver a suitably qualified workforce for this emerging sector. 

Education can also play a wider role; it can assist in levelling out the disparities in research and innovation within Europe. Certain areas - Central and Eastern Europe in particular – have excellent access to biomass resources, but the added value offered by the bioeconomy locally is so low that these resources are underused. Education can unlock the potential that exists in these areas, creating new businesses, jobs and opportunities at the same time. Yet, like biomass resources, the educational resources need do not exist uniformly throughout Europe.

Therefore, the ambition of the BIObec project is to develop a holistic framework for multi-level Biobased Education Centres that can meet the current and emerging needs and demands created by the bioeconomy. The project will design six pilot centres with a wide geographical coverage; these will address a range of topics on various value chains; these will be geared at academia, primary producers and businesses ranging from SMEs to multinationals. Ultimately, the BIObec project centres will be placed throughout Europe, boosting the relevant education capacity accordingly and encouraging life-long learning.