Innovation and Citizen Science: BIOAZUL participates in the III State Congress of Biosciences

On July 19th, we participated for the second time in the State Congress of Bioscience Students, organized by the bioscience students of the University of Granada. This third edition of the congress took place at the Faculty of Sciences in Granada and served as a unique venue for four days, bringing together bioscience students from across the country. The event aimed to share knowledge, experiences, and foster dialogue in various bioscience fields. Around 400 students attended this edition, which featured a diverse program of scientific talks, round tables, debates, seminars, and workshops.

At BIOAZUL, we organized a workshop titled “Innovation for Precision Agriculture and Citizen Science to Achieve Sustainable Changes in the Food Industry,” where we presented the work we are doing in two of our projects: BOOST and InformPack.

Our colleague Sara Hernández was responsible for introducing the main objectives of BOOST, our project focused on promoting the use of precision agriculture tools to optimize agricultural production, making it more efficient and sustainable. During the workshop, she also presented the training courses developed by the project for students and young farmers who wish to train as future agro-entrepreneurs and pioneers in precision agriculture. These courses are currently available on the project’s website in pilot phase and free of charge. Feedback and improvements will be incorporated as the first students complete the training. The workshop participants showed great interest in taking these courses and in learning about precision agriculture.

The second part of the workshop was dedicated to citizen science and presented our InformPack project as an example of participation and communication aimed at achieving sustainable changes in the food industry. Our colleague David Salaberri introduced the InformPack project and explained the work we are doing through surveys, workshops in schools and universities to foster a shift in public behavior towards a more sustainable European food packaging ecosystem. Finally, to add an interactive element to the workshop, David presented the Recycle Hero app. This online survey aims to assess public knowledge about recycling different types of packaging, such as biodegradable, mixed, and plastic packaging, among others.

The workshop was well-received, and the students engaged actively by asking questions and discussing recycling practices and differences in waste segregation across European countries. For the BIOAZUL team, it was a highly rewarding experience to be part of this congress and make our small contribution to science.