The Second International Training Course on Industrial Synthetic Biotechnology (ITC-ISB) was held online and offline from December 20 to 30, 2021 in Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology (TIB), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Nearly eighty scientific and technological personnel in the field of biotechnology from seventeen developing countries along the "Belt and Road" such as Egypt, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Nigeria and Nepal participated in the training course. The training course also opened to the public via live broadcast and got nearly 11,000 views.
The Second ITC-ISB commenced with an opening ceremony that was chaired by Prof. SUN Jibin, the Deputy Director-General of TIB and the CCIB Director. Prof. MAYanhe, the Director General of TIB addressed a welcome remarks at the ceremony. Prof. CAO Jinghua, Executive Director of ANSO attended on-site and delivered an opening remarks. Mr. Syed Junaid Akhlaq, Secretary General of Pakistan National Commission for UNESCO (PNCU), Dr. Akhtar Nazir, Executive Director of COMSATS and Ms. YANG Xuemei, Division Director of the Department of International Cooperation, MoST, attended online and delivered speeches, respectively. Besides, Mr. ZHANG Xuecheng, Secretary of the Party Committee and the Deputy Director-General of TIB, Prof. WANG Qinhong, the Deputy Director-General of TIB, Prof. JIANG Biao, Director of Innovation Cooperation Center (Bangkok), CAS, Prof. CHEN Fang, Director of Information Research Department, Chengdu Library and Information Center, CAS and Mr. LI Deheng, General Manager of Fufeng Group, etc. attended the opening ceremony.
The Second ITC-ISB is focused on the theory, practice and application of the industrial synthetic biotechnology. During the keynote lecture, Prof. SUN Jibin started from the connotations of the industrial biotechnology and synthetic biology, and illustrated its supporting role in the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Eighteen scholars such as Prof. HUANG He from Nanjing Tech University, Prof. YAN Yongliang from Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Prof. ZHOU Jingwen from Jiangnan University, Prof. FEI Qiang from Xi’an Jiaotong University, Prof. YU Bo from Institute of Microbiology, CAS, and Prof. ZHU Dunming, Prof. TIAN Chaoguang and Prof. ZHU Zhiguang from TIB, etc. introduced the frontier technology on biomedicine, bio-agriculture, future food, bio-chemicals, bio-based materials and bioenergy, respectively. More than ten scholars including Prof. LIU Weidong and Prof. XIA Jianye from TIB demonstrated the enabling technologies on automated genome engineering, systems biology, design of metabolic pathways, protein crystal structure determination and intelligent fermentation, etc. Trainees were also arranged a cloud excursion to TIB and the core R&D of the National Center of Technology Innovation for Synthetic Biology which is under construction.
The Second ITC-ISB was hosted by TIB and organized by the COMSATS Joint Center for Industrial Biotechnology (CCIB) with the support of the Alliance of International Science Organizations (ANSO), the Department of International Cooperation, Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST), Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS) and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In 2019, TIB organized the first International Training Course on Industrial Synthetic Biotechnology (ITC-ISB), whereby over twenty young scholars from ten developing countries were trained, which has exerted positive effects on innovative capacity enhancement of the scientists and engineers. Technical training for developing countries is an important focus of TIB to serve the “Belt and Road” Initiative and promote international exchanges and cooperation, which will contribute to building a collaborative innovation network for industrial biotechnology and promoting the development of biotechnology and bio-industry among those countries.
Opening ceremony (Image by TIBCAS)
Remarks by Prof. MA Yanhe (top left), Prof. CAO Jinghua (top right), Mr. Junaid Akhlaq (bottom left), Dr. Akhtar Nazir (middle) and Ms. YANG Xuemei (bottom right) (Image by TIBCAS)
Keynote lecture by Prof. SUN Jibin (Image by TIBCAS)
Graduation ceremony (Image by TIBCAS)
Group photo (Image by TIBCAS)
