On October 12th and 13th, the annual Biosphera Scientific Days were held at AgroParisTech (Palaiseau Campus)
Biosphera Scientific Days Programme.
These two days dedicated to Ecological transition were part of the S3 programme for Bioceb students enrolled in the M2 “Biomass Engineering for Bioeconomy” (M2 BIP-BEB of Université Paris-Saclay). It enabled them to take a break from their current academic courses to reflect on a crucial societal issue and enrich the debate with their own ideas. They could meet a wide community of Master’s students, lecturers and researchers all contributing to the thematic programmes of Biosphera Graduate School, in particular the programme “Sustainable circular bioeconomy” which is directly connected to Bioceb.
During the first day, the students attended three conferences from external lecturers working for the ecological transition:
- Raphael Gerson from the French Environment and Energy Agency (ADEME) who presented four scenarios to reach carbon neutrality in 2050;
- Roxane San Silvestri from the Transition Campus who emphasized a systemic and interdisciplinary approach; and
- Prof. Silvia Helena de Miranda from the University of Sao Paulo, who offered a Brazilian perspective.
These three highlights of the day were punctuated by poster sessions and by accounts made by Université Paris Saclay scientists and students.
To be noted, a Biosphera M2 prize was awarded to Ruxandra Toma for her Master’s thesis at URD ABI on the purification of antioxidant biomolecules.
On Day 2, a focus was given by several INRAE and Université Paris-Saclay researchers on three Biosphera’s cross-cutting scientific priorities related to ecological transition: Global One Health; Food transition; and Agro-ecological transition. It helped the students identify their possible impact in these fields as future researchers and innovation managers. It was followed by a “World café” brainstorming session in which the Bioceb students actively participated. They brought their comments and ideas on how one could contribute to ecological transition, as citizen, research, and finally as lecturer. During this session, the students discovered the AgroParisTech Teachers’ council room!
Taken together, these two days were very inspiring for the Bioceb students, and also for their supervisers preparing the next Bioceb programme edition.
Updated October 2023