“We hope that the BIObec project, in addition to 6 new Centres, also can bring about more cross-border cooperation, enhancing the exchange of students and ideas for strengthening EU cooperation and inspiration to bring new jobs and prosperity”.
Knud Tybirk, from the Food and Bio Cluster Denmark (FBCD), is a Senior Innovation Manager, with a deep expertise in environmental project development. Alongside its colleagues from FBCD, is helping the BIObec project in its progress and proper understanding of the North of Europe context regarding Bioeconomy and other related fields. Tybirk has a PhD in Biology from Aarhus University and has an experience of more than 30 years in science and innovation affairs.
- What are your expectations from the BIOBEC project?
We have gathered relevant educational institutions in Central Denmark Region, and other interested stakeholders. We hope to start a Danish BIObec hopefully later this year. It won’t be structured as a new educational institution, but rather as a small hub to interact, and develop new educational offerings.
- What is the main role of FCBD in BIOBEC?
Food and Bio Cluster Denmark is not an educational institution, but rather a cluster of actors within the Bioeconomy, and our role is to bring the relevant actors, including the educational institutions together in a new setting to discuss, and identify gaps and needs in the educational system for the bio-based economy. And of course, also to develop new courses together with the existing educational institutions to fill in the identified gaps.
- Can you talk a bit more about the Danish BIOBEC?
The Danish BIObec will be the first place to become organised as a project, to market existing educational offers, developing and testing new educational ones, mainly life-long learning courses. If/When these become a success, they are expected to be run by the most relevant educational institution.
- Why do you think such a project as BIOBEC is necessary and how do you think it could benefit society as a whole?
We have experienced that just talking about a bio-based economy, rather than, for example, agriculture or forestry, brings new ideas into educational institutions. We are open to new ideas and new cooperation. We hope that this new approach can attract new young people to the sector and bring in new competencies to develop the biobased sector further and create new jobs, new innovations, and new start-up businesses.
- What do you think will be the main outcomes of the BIOBEC project?
We hope that the BIObec project, in addition to 6 new Centres, also can bring about more cross-border cooperation and exchange of ‘students’ and ideas for strengthening EU cooperation and inspiration to bring new jobs and prosperity.
