INTERfaces - Heterogeneous biocatalysis reaction cascades training network H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Innovative Training Networks (ITN) – European Industrial Doctorates (EID)
12 Non-academic partners ranging from high-tech SMEs to large producing companies and 11 academic institutions offer an intersectoral and interdisciplinary environment to provide 14 PhD candidates with outstanding employability profiles for the European Biotech Sector. Together, they build this MOOC to widen the knowledge in the field of biocatalysis and to give students the chance to learn from an excellent board of teachers from different faculties and backgrounds.
List of teachers:
Dr. Pablo Domínguez de María (Sustainable Momentum, SL), Prof. Selin Kara (Aarhus University), and Prof. Lucia Gardossi (University of Trieste).https://www.h2020interfaces.eu/
The iMooX-course “Tailored Materials and Enzymes for Industrial Processes – Sustainability and Industrial Applications” focusses on how biocatalysis can be implemented at industrial scale, and will show how enzymatic solutions can become environmentally-friendly and industrially relevant at the same time. Two Units are envisaged. The first Unit, covering four lectures, will provide the fundamentals of sustainability, discussing from environmental metrics to the use of biogenic resources and some concepts related to bioeconomy. The first two will show how the environmental impact of biocatalytic reactions can be measured with meaningful and easy-to-implement metrics, and how a broader analysis can be made by implementing Life-Cycle-Assessments (LCA) strategies. The other two will explain the current transition from petroleum-based chemicals to a new paradigm based on biomasses as feedstocks. The second Unit, composed of two lectures, will show different biocatalytic industrial cases, emphasizing in each case why enzymes provide an advantage, based on selectivity, mild reaction conditions, versatility in different reaction media, etc. Overall, a broad perspective on the possibilities of biocatalysis at industrial scale will be given. The Units will be completed with some interviews between young scientists and industrial biotechnology leaders and experimental videos. After each lecture, a questionnaire must be completed and passed to successfully end the corresponding unit. The course is not only taught for students at BSc. and MSc. study levels but also to attract attention from industrial chemists interested in applying enzymes to synthesize chemicals for our daily use.
While this course can stand alone, it has been designed as part of a three MOOC series of “Tailored Materials and Enzymes for industrial Processes”:
“Tailored Materials and Enzymes for Industrial Processes – Basic Module”
“Tailored Materials and Enzymes for Industrial Processes – Advanced Module”
“Tailored Materials and Enzymes for Industrial Processes – Sustainability Module”
We highly recommend attending all these three MOOCs in the intended order for the best learning experience.
This course has been developed and realized in the frame of the project INTERfaces - Heterogeneous biocatalysis reaction cascades training network (H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Innovative Training Networks (ITN) – European Industrial Doctorates (EID)).
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 860414.
- Topic 1: Green Chemistry metrics for biocatalytic reactions and broader Life-Cycle-Assessment (LCA) strategies
- Topic 2: Bioeconomy, biogenic resources and change of paradigm.
- Topic 3: Industrial Biocatalysis. Case studies and motivation for using enzymes.
After completing the MOOC, participants will be able to:
Understand why measuring the sustainability of a catalytic reaction is an important topic nowadays.
Know how the greenness of (bio)catalyzed reactions can be quantitatively assessed, and how process conditions can be improved to reach more environmentally-friendly syntheses.
Understand the different process boundaries to analyze environmental metrics, and how life-cycle-assessments can be implemented to cover catalytic reactions holistically.
Learn the concept of Circular Bioeconomy, and how bio-based materials are being implemented at industrial scales.
Get knowledge on how enzymes can be implemented at industrial level, and learn about examples of reactors and case studies, from gene to process design.
Basic knowledge of biochemistry, organic chemistry, and chemical reaction engineering is expected. Completion of MOOC: “Tailored materials and Enzymes for Industrial Processes - Basic Module” and “Tailored materials and Enzymes for Industrial Processes - Advanced Module” is recommended
The MOOC is divided into 6 units. Every week one unit is published. Each unit contains at least one lecture video, accompanying transcripts, sometimes bonus material in the form of an experimental video or an industrial interview and a self-assessment quiz to check the learning goals.
Synchronous phases are not planned so that learners can work through content at their own pace.
For actively participating in the course you will receive an automatic certificate which includes your username, the course name as well as the completed lessons. We want to point out that this certificate merely confirms that the user answered at least 75% of the self-assessment questions correctly.