Following in their predecessors’ footsteps, the Bioceb students from the 4th cohort gathered at the end of Semester 2 for the summer school in Estonia. Once again, the organisation team from Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) had put together a unique program fitting perfectly with the training objectives of this pillar joint event.
The programme combined opening conferences on societal interest, visits of labs and industrial sites, communication by the students on their Green Line Projects, meeting with alumni, as well as the unmissable cultural and entertaining activities.
Two highlights marked this 4th edition: a trip to the Estonia Eastern region Virumaa and the participation of the scientific and university cooperation attaché of the Institut Français d’Estonie (Mr. Gabriel Voisin-Moncho). All week long, the students were able to share their views with the Bioceb consortium participants (Prof. Jaan Kers from TalTech, Jeanne Beyrand and Prof. Stéphanie Baumberger from AgroParisTech, Marie-Charlotte Belhomme and Prof. Caroline Rémond-Zilliox from URCA). Tommaso Tagliani from the 1st cohort, who is now working in Tallinn, was also on board for the adventure.
Day 1
After a warm welcoming from the TalTech Vice-Rector for Research, Prof. Tiit Lukk, and from Prof. Jaan Kers, the programme started with a set of lectures illustrating the diversity of topics addressed at TalTech: research on cellulose-based biopolymers, development of healthy food through biotechnologies, start-up creation, climate change and jobs. It continued with the traditional visit of labs and the guided tour in Tallinn old town.
Day 2
The trip to the Virumaa region started with an early morning bus departure allowing to make several stops on the road: the TalTech Virumaa College, the VKG OIL company, the Estonian mining museum, and finally … a boat safari on a former shale quarry! After this intensive exciting day devoted to fuel and electricity production in Estonia, the group enjoyed the blue waters and red evening light of the Baltic sea in Narva.
Day 3
Morning session at the hotel was dedicated to presentations including Bioceb associated partner Erik Larnøy from NIBIO and the tips from Tommaso Tagliani as a Research engineer in the Estonian start-up AÏO. In the afternoon, the group travelled back in time with the visit of a disused textile industrial complex considered as a former “textile giant”, the Krenholm factory. During no less than 1 hour and a half, the participants discovered the unique architecture of the buildings and learned about the history of the company linked to that of the cotton industry in the former Russia. After that, the group still found energy to climb all the steps of another “giant”, the Auvere steam turbine power plant which produced electricity from oil-shale and biomass.
Day 4
It was time to leave Narva and travel back to Tallinn, but the students were far from the end of their surprises since Estonian Cell - a pulp and paper mill, a biogas production plant Bioforce Ebavere and Moe Distillery were still waiting for them.
Day 5
Green Line Projects were in the spotlights through a convivial poster session and the oral presentations moderated by the TalTech semester 2 teacher Yevgen Karpichev. This year, the prizes of the best poster and best oral presentation were awarded to GLP 3 and GLP 5, respectively. The summer school ended with a lecture on wood pulping from Prof. Juha Fiskari (Mid Sweden University) and a session with alumni including Elijah Mark Garcia (Bioceb cohort 2) who came especially from Finland for the event.
As a conclusion,
This 4th edition of the Bioceb summer school was as successful and enriching as the previous ones. A warm thank you to all the participants and to TalTech staff, especially Triinu Poltimäe, for the amazing organization.
Updated October 2024