The Life Science Universities of Central and South Eastern Europe are the basis for sustainable, ecological and economic development of the region.
The 6th International CASEE Conference
"Latest Trends in Bioeconomy in the Danube Region"
was held at the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra from May 24 -26, 2015
Agriculture and ecology, safe food production and preservation of the environment are areas of global importance. Support of research and development activities in nutrition, food science and other areas mentioned are the topics dealt with by experts of Central and Southeast Europe at the 6th CASEE conference that took place in Slovakia for the first time.
The official part of the conference was opened by the president of CASEE and Rector of the University BOKU Vienna prof. Dr. Martin Gerzabek, who pointed out the importance of the bio-economy, the necessity of biological resources not only for the provision of safe and healthy food, but also for animal feed, energy and other products. Rector of SUA in Nitra Dr. h. c. prof. Ing. Peter Bielik, PhD., also welcomed the guests and informed them about the areas and priorities of scientific research and development activities of SUA.
Following the opening ceremony current trends, approaches and strategies in representative scientific topics were presented in four keynotes:
In the afternoon the 120 participants from 11 countries and 13 institutions spread out into 4 parallel sessions and continued with fruitful discussions and exchange of experience.
During these four sessions of the 6th CASEE conference, the latest scientific results were introduced in order to identify new scientific trends and to put forward recommendations to political decision-makers, to promote scientific collaboration and improve cooperation activities, to facilitate the integration of researchers from Central and Eastern European countries into the ICA. The special value of every CASEE conference is the high number of PhD students who present their work to senior colleagues, gain contacts for future activities and are encouraged to continue further research.
Next to the sessions an additional meeting was held to further develop the master programme "Sustainability in Agriculture, Food Production and Food Technology in the Danube Region".
Next to the scientifc value the CASEE conference also provided an excellent breeding ground for the other side of the CASEE community, in which the administrative staff built a strong collaboration throughout project proposals, networking and workshops. At the General Assembly several interesting educational and network projects were presented: e.g meetings of representatives of experimental farms within the CASEE network, the Erasmus + Joint degree application of the CASEE Danube AgriFood Master programme, and a winter school on Biotechnology and Food Sciences.
The full scientific programme was combined with a number of very attractive social events: on Sunday evening the particpants attended the Welcome reception at the University, which featured a local traditional music group. On Tuesday the conference came to an impressive end with an excursion to the Topolčianky museum, a visit to the national horse-breeding fram and a wine tasting.
All in all, the conference was an excellent opportunity for networking within assocations in the areas of agrobiology, biotechnology and food science and linking them with the scientific community focused on agronomy, biotechnology and with the food-oriented research institutes and universities. It also supported the exchange of scientific information between researchers, developers and professionals working in the Danube Region and other European countries.
The CASEE Presidency wishes to express its gratitude and acknowledgement for the excellent conference organisation by the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra.
Further information on the conference is also available on the conference site created by the University of Agriculture in Nitra.
