In 2026, the 8th ESSIB on "Sustainable solutions for local challenges: In situ valorization of side streams utilizing local biodiversity" is hosted by the University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece, and will focus on a holistic approach to the development of a bioprocess, from the technoeconomical and sustainability analysis to the identification of novel biocatalysts from local biodiversity and to applications. The program will cover biodiversity aspects, identification of novel enzymes from genomic and metagenomic data, the application of software tools for process design, and the analysis needed for the industrial implementation of the process, such as life-cycle assessment, sustainability analysis, and the carbon footprint of bioprocesses.
The European Summer School on Industrial Biotechnology (ESSIB) is an annual advanced training course for PhD students and postdocs, preferably (but not exclusively) from European countries with research projects in the fields of biotechnology, biochemistry, molecular biology, biochemical engineering, and bioinformatics. ESSIB brings together students from different fields of life sciences and introduces them into the field of industrial biotechnology. Lectures and practical courses present the current challenges in biotech industry, up-to-date methods, and strategies, and discuss about the scientific perspectives of industrial biotechnology and its contribution to sustainable growth. Thus, ESSIB is a complete educational program based on lectures, practical laboratory experience, and contacts with companies active in the field.
Since 2014, the ESSIB is organized by two academic partners, the University of Milano-Bicocca and the University of Stuttgart. Each year, the summer school will be hosted by a different partner and has a different focus.