‘What I enjoyed the most was the interactive discussions with people from industry’
Deborah D R Chikukwa
EngD Trainee, TU DelftI recently completed the Advanced Course in Downstream Processing and it was exceptional.The content was well-structured and covered a wide range of topics from the classic solid-liquid separations like centrifugation to mild bioseparations like aqueous two-phase technology. The speakers were knowledgeable and provided clear explanations with real-world examples. Additionally, the hands-on project was particularly valuable, allowing me to apply what I learned immediately. What I enjoyed the most was the interactive discussions with people from industry, which enhanced my learning experience as someone who only had an academic perspective on the subject matter. I highly recommend this course to both those in academia and industry looking to deepen their understanding of Downstream Processing and advance their career in separation technology. 2024
‘I highly recommend this course to biotechnology or pharmaceutical professionals looking to advance their technical skills’
Aiswarya Dharan
Quality Engineer, Johnson & Johnson Innovative MedicineI enrolled in the Advanced Downstream Processing course to deepen my understanding of bioprocessing and purification techniques for biologics. The course was intense, covering various purification aspects and featuring lectures from industry professionals, providing real-life application insights. Highlights included lab visits and case studies. I highly recommend this course to biotechnology or pharmaceutical professionals looking to advance their technical skills. It has significantly boosted my knowledge and will aid in my career advancement. 2024
‘This course was very focused and well organized, included both theoretical learning and examples of practical implementation’
Diana Ikasalaité
Research scientist, BiomatterAt Biomatter we create unique enzymes for novel technologies aimed at addressing the most pressing sustainability and health issues.As my work involves developing and optimizing workflows as well as producing and characterizing enzymes, I was keen to expand my expertise in biocatalysis, fermentation, and industrial utilization of enzymes. This course was very focused and well organized, included both theoretical learning and examples of practical implementation, and provided me with valuable insights into the aforementioned topics. Furthermore, the course featured speakers (as well as participants) from both academic and industrial backgrounds, allowing me to establish new connections within the field. This course has been an invaluable investment in my professional development and I would highly recommend the Biocatalysis and Protein Engineering course to anyone seeking to expand their horizons in the realm of enzyme technology. 2024
‘The course struck a perfect balance between theory and hands-on exercises, including programming in protein visualization software. ’
Rob Schmitz
Postdoc, Delft University of Technology I recently started a postdoctoral research project in Delft, focusing on enzymatic reactions that could replace unsustainable industrial chemical reactions. To enhance my expertise, I enrolled in the Biocatalysis and Protein Engineering course. It was very well organized and featured a diverse array of speakers from academia and industry. The course struck a perfect balance between theory and hands-on exercises, including programming in protein visualization software. I highly recommend this course to fellow academics and industry professionals engaged in enzyme biocatalysis. It offers valuable insights into transitioning from fundamental concepts to large-scale industrial applications, alongside skills in cutting-edge protein engineering techniques. 2024
‘The best part was the interaction with industry leaders and the active engagement during each session’
Ilaria Poledri
Co-founder, CSO, ExCulture B.V.I enrolled in this course to get a better understanding on how to best apply fermentation technology for pharmaceutical production. The course covered both theoretical and practical insights to operate and monitor bioprocesses with real case scenarios. It overcame my expectations in terms of background knowledge, practice and expert advice. The best part was the interaction with industry leaders and the active engagement during each session.
I would recommend the course to both scientists involved in fundamental research and professionals applying fermentation technology for a wide range of applications.
My advice for people interested in joining the course is to work on the preparatory material, think along with the lecturers, as well as connect with peers and stay part of the community. I strongly believe this course will impact my career by having provided me with actionable tools, guidelines and critical thinking toward microbial processes, to be continuously implemented from R&D to commercial production. 2024
‘I highly recommend this course to anyone working or interested in microbial biotechnology’
Martijn den Hoed
PhD student, Wageningen University & ResearchI enrolled for this course to get a deeper fundamental understanding of fermentation technology for my PhD project. Especially the first week served as a great and intense crash course during which many experienced speakers introduced us to the concepts of fermentation process design and microbial physiology. For me, the group exercises in between the lectures were particularly helpful to fully understand these concepts as well as learn from other participants. In the second week, a well-selected group of academic and industrial speakers offered diverse perspectives on microbial biotechnology from whom I have gained some valuable insights for my project and future endeavours. As such, I highly recommend this course to anyone working or interested in microbial biotechnology. 2024
‘The course covered all scales from micro to industrial’
Michael Sebakka
Chemical engineering technologist, MicroHarvest GmbHI was interested in enrolling for this course to gain information and tools necessary for modelling to gain insight into my work and accelerate my workflow. The course met and exceeded my expectations. The course covered all scales from micro to industrial and how this information could be used to design better experiments. I ended the week charged with new ideas on how a lot of the information could be implemented in my work and speed up progress. I would recommend this course for anyone interested in gaining up-to-date, relevant tools and information to enrich their projects. 2023
‘I expected a deep and objective course, and it met my expectations’
Henrique Pereira
PhD fellow, Technological University of the Shannon Midlands, IrelandMy current career goals demanded a deeper understanding of the state-of-the-art bioprocesses, and I found in the MCMB a potential pathway to achieve this. I expected a deep and objective course, and it met my expectations: a well-organized program that requires dedication not only to the preparatory materials but also a willingness to learn despite the discomfort of new complex information. I returned home with more problems than solutions but armed with a new toolbox to address unforeseen challenges. If you're unafraid of math, eager to build valuable connections, and stay at the forefront of bioprocess modelling, I highly recommend enrolling. 2023
‘I highly recommend this course to industry professionals working in fermentation process’
Elizabeth Geddes
Lead Process Engineer, TransitionHEROI work for TransitionHERO, as a specialist in innovation and scaling-up green technologies. I was motivated to take this course after seeing a shift in industry more and more towards using fermentation as a way of valorising waste streams to make new chemicals or food sources. This course not only addressed my questions on scaling-up fermentation technologies but also provided insight into its industrial applications. The lessons learnt from the professor’s past experiences were enriching, and winning the design case study with my team was very nice also! I now feel better equipped to engage in confident discussions with my clients and advise them on scaling up considerations. I highly recommend this course to industry professionals working in fermentation process. 2023
‘I was happy to have the opportunity to join this course ’
Frederik Michale
EngD, TU DelftI joined the AC Bioprocess Design because I wanted to learn how to solve problems and design solutions in USP simply and pragmatically.The scheduling of the topics covered in the course was in good order, starting from thermodynamics to obtain the process reaction, gas-liquid mass transfer, reactor design, and ending with the design of experiments for scale-down testing. Besides learning, there was enough time to apply all the knowledge in a group case study which was in my opinion the best part of the course. I was happy to have the opportunity to join this course and I believe people who want to bring a more abstract and scientific approach to bioreactor design to their companies will benefit from taking this course. 2023
‘The course helped me to understand many interrelations in a new way ’
Larissa Graß
PhD student in environmental engineering, RWTH Aachen UniversityWith my background in environmental engineering, I was very happy to get a new biotechnological perspective on some processes I already work with. The course helped me to understand many interrelations in a new way and gave me new impulses and ideas that I can integrate into my further work. I would recommend this course to anyone who wants to gain a deeper understanding of biological processes that are crucial for the optimisation and operation of biological wastewater treatment plants. This course gave me very compact answers to some questions I had for a long time and to some questions I didn't even know I had before attending the course.
2023
‘It was a wonderful experience attending the course. ’
Fengyi Zhu
PhD student from Department of Industrial Biotechnology, KTH Royal Institute of TechnologyIt deepened my understanding of environmental biotechnology and ignited inspiration for my project. As a PhD student in environmental biotechnology, I enrolled in this course to gain a better knowledge of environmental biotechnology principles and applications. It was a wonderful experience attending the course. I have to say that the program exceeded my expectations. I encountered many valuable lectures during the program, which prompted me to reflect on their potential relevance to my research project. I firmly believe that the knowledge and insights I have gained from this course will provide guidance for my future experiments. The case study part was quite challenging for me, but I really enjoyed the atmosphere that allowed us to engage in thorough discussions and also the many fun moments we created during the course.
I highly recommend this course to those interested in strengthening the fundamentals of environmental biotechnology and learning the design of processes and reactors for wastewater treatment.
2023
PhD in biotechnology / Fermentation coordinator at BialtecI enrolled in the Advanced Course on Environmental Biotechnology with the goal of broadening and updating my knowledge in the fields of waste treatment and the study of mixed microbial communities. The course exceeded my expectations, as it not only provided a solid theoretical foundation but also facilitated valuable interactions with the lecturers, who generously shared their extensive experience and knowledge on the subject matter. The organization of the course was outstanding, and the complementary activities enhanced the overall learning experience.
Thanks to the insights gained from the lectures and the connections I've made with fellow students and professors during this course, I am confident that I will be able to contribute to the development of new products at Bialtec and potentially assist in the implementation of modern waste treatment systems in my country.
2023
‘I learnt about processes that I have never used before’
Wimar Reynaga Navarro
PhD, Wageningen University & ResearchI have recently started as a PhD candidate at Wageningen University & Research. My project involves Liquid-Liquid extraction processes which are intended to be applied over seaweed biomass.During my bachelor's and master's studies, I had the chance to acquire the basics of this knowledge. However, the Advanced Course Downstream Processing offered me the opportunity to refresh my knowledge and dive deeper into this topic. Besides, I learnt about processes that I have never used before, which gave me insights into potential applications within my project. The content of this week-length course was well-balanced. The basics of every downstream unit operation were well explained and relatively easy to follow. Additionally, the connection between the theory and the industry was achieved with the application of the case problem. Additionally, it was a great opportunity to expand my network with colleagues from other countries within Europe and even from other continents. I would recommend this course to anyone who either wants to gain new knowledge or to refresh theirs in the downstream processing field. It will be a very useful addition to your expertise in bioprocess engineering. 2023
‘I’m glad that I got the chance to participate, learn from the best’
Maria Loos
Senior Associate Scientist at MSAT, Janssen Biologics B.V.My work as Life Cycle Management SME often relates to DSP processes and I wanted to get deeper understanding of that, both on how the development works as well as real-life implications. I’m glad that I got the chance to participate, learn from the best, have discussions with the experts from the related fields and visit the facilities at TU Delft. It was an intense course and tackled a broad variety of topics. This was also my favourite part of the course: a carefully designed balance between theoretical lectures and exercises versus deep-dive into actual applications and examples. I recommend it to anyone who want to learn about the background of how your process was actually developed in the first place or the other way around if you to understand how your research should actually be implemented in real-life. 2023
‘One of the highlights of the course was the remarkable atmosphere’
Ivo Tjalma
EngD, TU DelftAs someone with limited practical experience in strain engineering, this course provided an invaluable opportunity for me to catch up on the emerging possibilities offered by multi-omics approaches. The course was very well organized and surpassed my expectations in numerous ways. The content was completely up-to-date, and the instructors' depth of knowledge was impressive. The lectures given by industry experts were very open and gave insights in real-world examples, which greatly enriched the learning experience. One of the highlights of the course was the remarkable atmosphere, which stimulated the participants engage with experts and peers passionate about multi-omics to have meaningful discussions about their personal research challenges. The hands-on exercises and practical sessions were particularly valuable, as they gave me a practical understanding of how to apply the open-source tools that were provided. Overall, I can confidently say that this course has significantly expanded my knowledge and skills in advanced multi-omics approaches. The knowledge gained will undoubtedly have a positive impact on my future research endeavors. I highly recommend this course to anyone seeking to deepen their understanding of multi-omics and their opportunities in this rapidly evolving field. 2023
‘Insight into the opportunities and possibilities of modelling used in CFD’
Susanne Gitlesen
Special advisor, NORCE Norwegian Research Centre ASI attended the course to get up to date with current status in modelling of fermentation based processes. My aim was to get a good enough understanding of the different software and model methods to be able to communicate and be a link between biochemists and engineers. I got a good start with this course. This is an intense course that requires knowledge about fermentation processes and reactor design. I must admit that it required a steep learning curve with 3 SW + plus other methods in just one week. The course is relevant on many levels for biochemical engineers working with CFDs and wants to get a broader knowledge, biochemical professions that wants an insight into the opportunities and possibilities of modelling used in CFD and chemical engineers that have recently begun working with fermentation. However, if you are like me and it is a while since you were active in the area, I advise you to refresh your skills in bio-kinetics and have a look at the software/CFD in advance. The course has a tight program with extremely knowledgeable speakers (high academic), practical modelling in different software, tours on the DSM Delft site, and the opportunities of interaction with the lectures and course participants. I believe that modelling is a good tool to support R&D and design and visualization of fermentation based processes. 2018
‘You learn to build the models and do the simulation during the course’
Joost Beekman
Senior Scientist Integrated Processing, DSM Food SpecialtiesI have been out of science details for the last 8 years. The Advanced Course Multiscale Computational Methods in Bioprocesses brought me up to speed quickly with many aspects of the rapidly developing fields of modelling and computation. The course shows how different aspects in a biotechnology process can be described adequatelyand how to combine them to describe actual process limitations. One great aspect of the course is that you learn to build the models and do the simulation during the course. Another aspect is the nice overview given of the rapidly developing field of biotechnology and the new opportunities that this gives us. 2018
‘A perfect blend of interaction and knowledge sharing between organizers and participants’
Soumendu Dasgupta
Denmark Technical University, Postdoc at Novo Nordisk Foundation Centre for BiosustainabilityI am from a Chemical Engineering background with experience in CFD modeling during my PhD and started as a Postdoc at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Centre for Biosustainability for scale down studies of bioreactors. The extensive course was a perfect balance of modeling and experimental techniquescoupled with in depth understanding of the physics behind complex processes. The level of skills, expertise, and approachability of the presenters is something that made the course very relatable even to me coming from a different background in education. The exercises and case studies amalgamated a perfect blend of interaction and knowledge sharing between organizers and participants of the course, which added to the uniqueness. Overall, the value for time was entirely accounted for and I would strongly recommend this course to anyone especially looking for a modeling perspective in bioprocessing. 2021
‘A good balance between theoretical lectures and software practice’
Elco Backus
Janssen vaccines and prevention, Senior associate scientist Process developmentHaving attended the Bioprocess design course in 2017, I have had good experiences with the advanced courses provided by BioTech Delft / TU Delft. My expectation was that I would gain more knowledge on computational modelling applications surrounding bacterial fermentation like computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and how this is applied. These expectations were met and surpassed as I was positively surprised to find the course also delved into metabolic pathways and genetics. By taken the intracellular enzymatic reactions into account, in a holistic modelling approach, we learned each casus requires its own modelling approach. The course had a good balance between theoretical lectures and software practice, showing different software products available for CFD. The lecturers were all experienced experts in their relevant fields, stimulated discussion to improve understanding, and prepared their lectures around the main theme. Unfortunately, due to COVID restrictions I had to attend this course online, but the hybrid meeting was setup well although I would have liked to be able to attend the offline course diner. Given the intensity of the course, I would strongly recommend future participants to go through the preparatory material provided and to make sure the required software is installed up front. Although the emphasis of this course was on chemical engineering of microbial processes, I can strongly recommend this course to anyone working in the field of industrial process development as it will broaden your understanding of current technological possibilities and how these different fields interact. 2021
‘A fantastic way to explore the modelling approaches’
Christoff Odendaal
PhD student, University Medical Centre GroningenI am a molecular systems biologist focusing on biomedical applications but I was interested in learning more about the use of computational techniques in industry and biotechnology. This course was a fantastic way to explore the modelling approaches used for wide array of biotechnology applications as well as the underlying theory. I particularly appreciated the variety presented in the course, ranging in scale from industrial fermentors to individual metabolic pathways. For anyone interested in biotechnology from a computational perspective, or anyone interested in modelling in general, the course comes highly recommended. But do your homework – it’s a lot packed into one week and without proper preparation it will be difficult to keep up, especially if you aren’t already into industrial bioprocesses.
‘Update my theoretical knowledge in the biocatalysis field’
Lisanne Jente
Associate Scientist Biocatalysis, InnoSyn B.V.As a scientist in a biocatalysis R&D department, I was interested in getting to know more about protein engineering techniques and also update my theoretical knowledge in the biocatalysis field. This course was very valuable to me, as it combined theoretical lectures with practical examples of biocatalysis routes applied on (very) large scale. Another great thing about this course was the fact that we were not only able to discuss some ideas with the lecturers, but also with other participants. I can only advice people to do the course on-site, if possible, because I personally think this has big advantages; you get to know the little quaint town Delft, see the nice TU Delft building, but are also able to get to know other professionals from the Biocatalysis & Protein Engineering field. 2023
‘An interdisciplinary approach and learning from real industry cases is crucial’
Beata Lehka
Postdoctoral Researcher at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU)The Advanced Course on Microbial Physiology and Fermentation Technology taught me that an interdisciplinary approach and learning from real industry cases is crucial when developing a successful fermentation process. Learnings from the course will enable me to collaborate better with people working with different fields (fermentation team, strain engineers, modelling team and DSP team). The course is very intense, but well-organized social activities enables to refresh the brain and get ready for the next day. 2022
‘I took this course to improve my understanding of fermentation technology’
Christoffer Rode
PhD student, DTU BiosustainAs a PhD student interested in cell factory engineering, I took this course to improve my understanding of fermentation technology. This course is packed with valuable information and is taught by highly experienced lecturers from both academia and industry. An average understanding of fermentation technology helps a lotwhich can be obtained from the preparatory text and videos. For me, the most exciting part about this course was to gain insight into the industrial side of biotechnology, which has given me new and useful perspectives to my PhD project. I highly recommend this course to anyone whose work is in some way related to fermentation. 2023
‘A collaborative environment which fostered discussion and exposure to multiple schools of thought’
Samuel Jayakanthan
Principal Scientist, Protein chemistry and engineering, Vandstrom, IncAs a protein biochemist using batch fermentation to express integral membrane proteins, I have long been interested in the course offered by TU delft in Microbial physiology and fermentation technology. TU Delft being a nerve-centre for such process development initiatives, has a series of courses offered around the year.So, it was exciting to have received word that there was an opening on account of a cancellation. I jumped at the opportunity. I found the in-depth lectures on mass balances, q-rates, stoichiometry of growth and product formation to be a great primer to subsequent topics such as fed batch fermentation design, metabolic networks and data analysis of fermentation experiments. Case studies on industrial fermentation helped me go through the process of how rate-based design of biosystems are formulated for very complex systems. The culmination of the course touched on single cells, and the limits of scale up/down and the origins of life itself in a mesmerizing series of lectures led my industrial experts. The problem sets / exercised interspersed with the lectures aided by world renowned experts provided a collaborative environment which fostered discussion and exposure to multiple schools of thought. This was most rewarding as people from various backgrounds put their heads together in problem solving in creative ways. The atmosphere of the venue, food and the beautiful neighbourhood where the university is situated is treat for those visiting Holland from abroad as it was for me. I loved biking on the cobble stoned roads and exploring museums, churches, and local farmers markets to sample stroopwafels and homemade cheese on the weekends. I would highly recommend this course for anyone in the microbiology or fermentation fields who is interested in learning from the experts and further honing their skills in these cutting-edge methods. 2023
‘I gained state of the art insights that are going to help me a lot’
Tim Krempel
Modelling Analyst at EV-BiotechIn my career so far I have mostly worked with genome-scale metabolic model to improve industrial microorganisms. I decided to follow the advanced multi-omics course to get a broader overview also about the different -omic techniques and how to integrate them into my work. The course exceeded my expectations and I gained state of the art insights that are going to help me a lot. The entry-level of the course is quite high, but with the preparatory materials you will become familiar with the topics. I highly recommend candidates that are less familiar to work them through. The course itself had a nice balance of lectures, practical exercises and talks about different applications of the techniques. The organisation of the course left no room for improvement and I can recommend it to everyone who wants to get an overview of this emerging field. 2021
‘This was one of the best courses I have taken during my PhD education’
Greta Gecse
Industrial PhD student at DSM and DTU (Technical University of Denmark)Working with fermentation and bacterial cell physiology, my interest naturally shifted towards the ‘omics technologies which are essential state-of-the-art tools for intelligent microbial host design. I participated on this course to deepen my knowledge on the ‘omics approaches and to find further inspiration for their applications within my own research project. Without a doubt, this was one of the best courses I have taken during my PhD education – the organization and execution of the course was spotless. High-quality lectures were spiced with interesting exercises, relevant examples and talks by industry. Additionally, the course provided a great platform for social networking. I would recommend this course to those who are working on the development/improvement of industrial microbes and would like to have a coherent overview of the state-of-the-art ‘omics tools with hands on experience and relevant examples. This course requires some prior knowledge on Python and working in a terminal. 2021
‘Gain a comprehensive understanding of advanced technologies’
Mariam Taziani Funder
PhD student, Novo Nordisk foundation Center for Biosustainability The advanced course on Integrated Multi-Omics was a progressive program and was perfectly designed to explore the potential of genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics in enhancing the performance of industrial microbes with participation of diverse companies for better understanding of the field. This course delves into the complex mechanisms that govern microbial metabolism, highlighting how multi-omics techniques can unravel valuable insights. As a PhD student participant could gain a comprehensive understanding of advanced technologies and computational tools utilized in multi-omics data analysis, enabling them to optimize microbial strains for various industrial applications. Through lectures, hands-on exercises, and case studies, attendees acquire practical skills to engineer microbial systems with improved productivity, efficiency, and sustainability. This course serves as a useful platform for researchers, students, scientists, and biotechnologists to stay at the forefront of microbial biotechnology advancements. 2023
‘It revealed many answers and will keep revealing more during my work’
Tessa Geskus
Process Engineer at Paques Europe B.V.As process engineer I design several waste water treatment plants according to our standards and knowledge. I wanted to follow this course to get more in depth knowledge of the fundamental chemistry, thermodynamics and other factors that are important in waste water treatment. The course was very challenging and very highly paced. It showed me where waste water treatment has come from and where it is heading. It revealed many answers and will keep revealing more during my work since now I have a theoretical framework to fall back upon. The mix of the fundamental basics of waste water treatment and how that has been used to develop technologies and new techniques was very interesting. And I recommend anyone involved in designing or operation waste water treatment plants to follow this course, it really gives an insight in the processes that you are working with. 2019
‘It helped me to get the “big picture” thanks to the lecturers ’
Vicente Tomás Monje López
PhD student in the Process and Systems Engineering Centre at Denmark Technical UniversityMy background is industrial biotechnology, focused more in food, pharma and biotech bioprocess than wastewater treatment technologies. The course goes from stoichiometry and (bio)reaction thermodynamics, to the different types of treatment processes and bioreactor design.My background is industrial biotechnology, focused more in food, pharma and biotech bioprocess than wastewater treatment technologies. The course goes from stoichiometry and (bio)reaction thermodynamics, to the different types of treatment processes and bioreactor design. In my case, it helped me to get the “big picture” thanks to the lecturers which I always found knowledgeable and helpful. The case study and the excursion to a wastewater treatment plant are key to fix the theory and to see how it translates into reality. I would recommend the course for any professional not familiar with the environmental biotechnology background, that would like to have a broad overview of the matter. 2019
‘Strengthening my current knowledge on Environmental Biotechnology’
Woo Hyoung Lee
Associate Professor, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering, University of Central FloridaI have known the Advanced Course on the Environmental Biotechnology at TU Delft since 2007 when I studied at the University of Cincinnati. Taking the course has been in my to-do lists as one of my research interests is related to biofilm studies using microelectrodes. As I expected, the course taught what I really need to know from the origin and history of environmental biotechnology to the recent development of the biotechnology, focusing on biological process engineering. Meeting with internationally renowned scholars and discussing with them during the course was also a great pleasure and provided benefits to learn the behind-the-scenes stories of the modeling and process engineering. The course materials and the two-weeks experience at TU Delft will be incorporated into my teaching at UCF, strengthening my current knowledge on Environmental Biotechnology. 2019
‘An energetic environment to get to know fellow candidates and speakers’
Sivaramakrishnan Chandrasekaran
Ph.D. Candidate in Sustainable process design, Delft University of TechnologyFor a person with background in Chemical Engineering and passion for biotechnology, this course was very insightful with diverse topics and an interesting case study to understand about bioprocess design. The one week intensive course was filled with speakers from industries and academiaproviding apt environment to learn about the sector as a whole. The course is set at medium/advanced level with special focus on bioreactor design. The learning curve for this advanced course depends on professional background of an individual but all support was provided to achieve the same. The key highlight of the course is the opportunity to develop a process design in a case study where we could implement the knowledge learned. I highly recommend this course to people whose current work is related to experimental or conceptual design of biochemical/biotechnological process engineering. Finally, the course takes place in the modern building of DSM located in the small and beautiful city of Delft providing an energetic environment to get to know fellow candidates and speakers. 2021
‘The lectures gave a good summary of the state of the art in bioprocess design’
Marcel Girard
Junior Fermentation Engineer at The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for BiosustainabilityFormer as well as current colleagues and supervisors recommended this course to me, which is why I had quite high expectations of it. These expectations were met completely. As an MSc. In Biotechnology, the course was very valuable, giving insights more into Chemical Engineering and the production of mostly small molecules.Former as well as current colleagues and supervisors recommended this course to me, which is why I had quite high expectations of it. These expectations were met completely. As an MSc. In Biotechnology, the course was very valuable, giving insights more into Chemical Engineering and the production of mostly small molecules. The course had a good balance of lectures and practical exercises with a focus on planning a techno-economically viable bioprocess. The lectures gave a good summary of the state of the art in bioprocess design as well as current challenges in the field. The one-course week was quite intense, but there was plenty of time to socialize and get to know organizers and participants alike. In summary, I can highly recommend this course especially for people that want to extend their knowledge in Bioprocess Design for bulk chemicals. 2021
‘The teachers held a high standard of expertise in their respective fields’
Peter Ehlert Jensen
Junior Fermentation Engineer at The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for BiosustainabilityAs a chemical engineering graduate working in the field on fermentation science with emphasis on scale up/down methodology this course was enlightening. The intense course schedule coupled with challenging and interesting case studies made the whole experience engaging and fun. The teachers held a high standard of expertise in their respective fields and were able to elaborate complex material in a simplistic manner. The guest lectures provided interesting topics, which could relate the course material to real-life scenarios in the current age of bioprocess design. Last and not least, the social activities were delightful and provided with a great opportunity to connect with likeminded individuals to socialize and in general having a good time. I would highly recommend the course to any who wants to challenge their own knowledge in Bioprocess Design and be part of the industrial biotechnology journey. 2021
‘Very well presented by expert lecturers from academia and industry’
Helin Alagoz
EV Biotech, Fermentation ScientistI am a bioengineer by training but passionate about fermentation and bioprocess design. I took the Advance Bioprocess Design course to deepen my knowledge in the field and learn more about scaling up methodology and applying it in real life. The course had very insightful topics where we learned the principles behind process designI am a bioengineer by training but passionate about fermentation and bioprocess design. I took the Advance Bioprocess Design course to deepen my knowledge in the field and learn more about scaling up methodology and applying it in real life. The course had very insightful topics where we learned the principles behind process design from full-scale and was supported by a case study for the production of 1,4-butanediol and butadiene, where we applied our new learnings in bioreactor design in the last 3 days. The course has a tight schedule and is intensive, so I recommend brushing up on thermodynamics and biokinetics for those who want to take it and have not used this knowledge recently. The course was enlightening and very well presented by expert lecturers from academia and industry, we also had several social settings where we interacted with professionals with the same interests from a variety of disciplines. I enjoyed the small group dynamics with the lecturers and participants and I would highly recommend this course to anyone wishing to learn more about bioprocess design and challenge themselves. Overall, I had a great experience thanks to the organizers, lecturers, and my team during the course. 2021
‘Gaining advanced knowledge of technical aspects of bioprocess design.’
Omnia AbdelKarim
PhD Wageningen University, the Netherlands & Assistant lecturer Tanta University, EgyptThe advanced bioprocess design course is very perceptive with many different topics and offers a great opportunity to amplify the ability to combine theoretical calculations with the real applications of biological processes in the industry. It was a strong one-week course filled with speakers from different areas It was a strong one-week course filled with speakers from different areas like industries and academia, providing several insightful topics where we learned the principles behind process design and scaling up biotechnology innovations and implementation on large or small scales. Also, it has a good balance between the lectures and the practical exercises, especially the case study, to know how we can design a feasible process and what the bottlenecks and how we can improve our process by implementing the knowledge learned. In addition to that, the competitive case studies and working in groups not focusing only on the scientific area but also we learned how to share ideas within the group and how to work as a team to achieve success for the whole team, and I think that is the most important part in the industry. Moreover, it is a good opportunity to meet experts from different fields and to ask all the lectures detailed questions. The course was very organized, and they covered every biotechnological aspect from theoretical to practical and connected this with real industry in the BPF tour we made. As I am a (micro)biologist working on lipid production from microalgae, and I need to learn about the reactor design, the bottlenecks, and the steps needed for the scale-up process of lipid production and this course helped to understand how to set my own process design from the product’s stoichiometry to the scale-up stage to guarantee the process victory and undoubtedly the course met my all expectations. So, I strongly recommend this course to a (micro)biologist who wants to learn more about biotechnology and needs to gain advanced knowledge of technical aspects of bioprocess design. 2022
‘The knowledge I took home directly helped me to improve our process’
Max Völker
Mushlabs GmbH, GermanyAs an inorganic chemist working in a biotech startup, I needed a way to get access to experience in industrial process design. Learning from literature is great but a bit one-directional. Talking to experts with decades of combined experience and being able to ask silly questions and having them answered is priceless.The combination of theoretical presentations followed by real life examples where these principals were applied and helped to improve these processes was amazing to see. Having a heterogeneous group of participants with all kinds of backgrounds was a delight and sparked some interesting conversations. The knowledge I took home directly helped me to improve our process and I was able to implement certain concepts for better efficiency evaluations that were taught in the course. 2022
‘I would highly suggest this course to broaden your knowledge in DSP’
Katya Harkovski
R&D Project manager at CollplantI applied to broaden my knowledge in DSP, specifically in chromatography, my current area of research. The course was focused on advanced industry experience combined with theoretical practices, which altogether gave a complete process overview of the smallest details of the DSP process. I was very impressed by the high level of teaching material and the relevancy to industrial production, as well as from TU Delft facilities. The practical case study was a fun exercise that enabled in depth learning of each DSP stage and was the highlight of the course. I would highly suggest this course to every researcher and engineer interested to broaden their knowledge in DSP. 2022
‘I always lacked a bit of knowledge about fermentation’
Arthur Schuller
R&D Scientist Bioprocess Development at DSMDuring my doctorate, I was able to gain a lot of skills in the area of upstream development, but I always lacked a bit of knowledge about what comes after fermentation. Therefore, I can highly recommend the downstream course, as you can refresh your theoretical knowledge or learn new things within a quite intensive week. What I particularly liked about the course is that it is not specifically tailored to one industry, but that participants from the pharmaceutical industry as well as from white biotechnology can benefit from it. Due to the very broad spectrum, the intensity of the course was relatively high, but manageable. The course is divided into a theoretical part presented by TU Delft professors, followed by calculation examples to apply what has just been learned, and finally rounded off by presentations from the private sector and real case studies. I would also like to mention the excellent equipment at the TU Delft. For example, MS Surface notebooks are provided, which gives you the opportunity to take notes digitally and then take them with you on a USB stick, without paperwork, which I really appreciate. Finally, the very good organization of the course apart from the downstream processing must also be mentioned - the lunch was always excellent and special attention was paid to giving you the opportunity to get to know each other better through evening activities. All in all, I can definitely recommend the course. 2022
‘A great learning experience to refresh my DSP knowledge’
Robin Mack
R&D Research Engineer at BASFThis course was a great learning experience. I signed up to refresh my DSP knowledge and gain insight on current developments in this field. I really appreciate the mix of theory-focused lectures, presentations from industry, and exercises in which you can apply your knowledge.The course was well organized, and enough time was provided to network with other participants from industry, speakers, and TU Delft students. 2022
‘I wanted to expand my knowledge about enzymes and protein engineering’
Amalie Vang Høst
PhD Candidate, Technical University of Denmark (DTU) I attended the course because I wanted to expand my knowledge about enzymes and protein engineering. My background is in chemical and biochemical engineering. Thus the course was especially challenging for me, as I have never worked with protein engineering before.The course was intense but very interesting and well structured. The variety of lecturers, both from the industry and academia, provided the course content with different perspectives, resulting in many motivating and insightful lectures related to their own work. Another important aspect of the course is the social part. We had a lot of fun during the week, especially at the course dinner. I expanded my network with many people working in similar fields as me but with many different backgrounds. I would recommend the course to anyone working within biocatalysis, as the course provides you with a lot of different aspects and valuable takeaways. 2022
‘Insight in how to scale up from an idea to create an industrial process’
Valeria Della Gala
PhD student, Technical University of Denmark (DTU)As my PhD research is focused on biocatalysis and enzyme engineering, I decided to attend this course to strengthen my knowledge and learn about established and novel techniques to perform enzymatic reactions and engineering proteins. Despite its challenging nature, the course was well-organized,and the speakers (both from academia and industry) were knowledgeable and enthusiastic during their presentations, grabbing students' attention and sparking new ideas. The course also provided good opportunities for networking and socializing, with time to explore the lovely city of Delft. Additionally, the advanced course was an excellent venue, and the course facilities and materials were excellent. Overall, I am very satisfied with the course, which also provided me with insight into how to apply this new knowledge in silico and how to scale up from an idea to create an industrial process. I would recommend this course to anyone working in biocatalysis or protein-related fields, as well as biotechnologists working in other areas, as knowledge about proteins is always valuable. 2023