New research agreement between DIL and universities in Lower Saxony
Niedersächsische scientists found Förderverein - DIL coordinates all activities and the composite
In addition to customer-specific research for the food industry has DIL institute director Dr. Volker Heinz the share of basic research at the Institute's projects increased significantly in recent years. Now Heinz marks a further step towards science and research.
On September 10th, 4 university institutes of Lower Saxony founded the association “Food & Health Lower Saxony” together with the German Institute for Food Technology in Hanover. The purpose of the association is to promote science and research, with a special focus on food and nutrition research. This purpose is achieved through the coordination of research activities and the transfer of results to the relevant economic sectors with the aim of improving the sustainable use of resources and the health of consumers.
From left to right: Dr. Volker Heinz, Prof. Dr. Ralf Günter Berger, Prof. Dr. Andreas Hahn, Dr. Sascha Beutel, PD Dr. Ulrich Krings, Prof. Dr. Thomas Scheper, Prof. Dr. Peter Winterhalter
Photo: DIL
The founding members are Prof. Dr. Ralf Günter Berger from the Institute for Food Chemistry, Prof. Dr. Andreas Hahn from the Institute for Food Science, Prof. Dr. Thomas Scheper and Dr. Sascha Beutel from the Institute for Technical Chemistry and from the Technical University of Braunschweig Prof. Dr. Peter Winterhalter and apl. Prof. Dr. Ulrich Engelhardt from the Institute for Food Chemistry and the German Institute for Food Technology Quakenbrück Dr. Volker Heinz.
The board of directors of the non-profit association consists of 5 people, whereby the head of the DIL will always be the chairman of the board according to the statutes. This also documents that the DIL will take over the coordination of all tasks and projects of the association. The special mediation function of the DIL between science and industry is recognized and the objective of the knowledge transfer of the research results in the local agricultural and food industry is documented.
"It is precisely the requirements of the new 'bioeconomy' field of science that make it necessary to structure and coordinate the research capacities and resources available in Lower Saxony more closely so that they can then be brought to bear more precisely in the competition between European research projects." Heinz the background and the objective for the establishment of this extraordinary association of scientists.
The participating scientists have already worked together successfully in networks such as FAEN or “Netzwerk Lebensmittel” in the past. The increasingly limited availability of research funds in the state now makes a reorientation necessary in order to keep the excellent Lower Saxony research landscape with regard to food and related health research competitive in the future and not to have to reduce it.
The DIL is already coordinating the European network of excellence “HighTech Europe” with the aim of developing future-oriented projects and methods of innovation management and establishing a European Institute for Food Technology. On October 11th, this network held its workshop as part of the “iFOOD2011” conference of the DIL.
Source: Quakenbrück [DIL]
