Sustainability through biotechnology – celebrating “101 years of biotechnology”

In 2019, BIO Deutschland marked the hundredth anniversary of the coining of the term “biotechnology” by celebrating “100 years of biotechnology”. With 25 milestones, a biotechnology quiz and the competition “Biophorie – Euphorie für die Bio(techno)logie”, the theme year drew attention not only to the highlights of the last 100 years but also to the key technology’s future potential. BIO Deutschland will continue the celebration in 2020 under the banner “101 years of biotechnology” (www.101jahre-biotech.de). The winners of the Biophorie competition will be honoured at the German Biotech Days in Wiesbaden on 27–28 May 2020. Their visions will be visualised and presented at the conference.

Almost every day there is exciting news coming out of the biotech sector. BIO Deutschland will report on these achievements and innovations in the new year, too. A special focus of Science Year 2020 – Bioeconomy is biotechnology’s contribution to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. Each month, a spotlight will be placed on one of eleven different SDGs at www.101jahre-biotech.de/nachhaltigkeit.html.

Major sponsors of the “101 years of biotechnology" initiative include the Biotechnology Association Berlin-Brandenburg (bbb), the Biotechnology Student Initiative (bts), the National Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech), the Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (DECHEMA), the German Life Sciences Association (VBIO), the Association of German Engineers (VDI) and the German Association for General and Applied Microbiology (VAAM).