Engelberth Study Abroad:
Industrial Microbial Biotechnology in Germany

Purdue University

May 5 – 19, 2024

CEPA had the pleasure of running yet another edition of the Purdue Biotechnology program to Germany with the renowned Dr. Abigail Engelberth from Purdue University and her research group once again, packed with rich cultural and professional experiences in Munich, Stuttgart, Heidelberg, Düsseldorf and Berlin as well as smaller towns in those areas over the course of two weeks.

This group of students, most of them majoring in Biological Engineering, had a lot of fun exploring these various places in Germany while learning a lot about the role of microbes in the production of various commercial products including enzymes, pharmaceuticals, foods, and commodity chemicals. Germany remains an excellent choice as a destination based on the country’s history in food fermentations and expertise in anaerobic digestion of agricultural residues.

Among the numerous sites the group visited was the biogas plant “Unterer Lindenhof” of the University of Hohenheim, where the students learned more about the functioning and the biological processes of a biogas plant.

In Hessigheim, they visited the winery “Felsengartenkellerei”. After a tour of the picturesque vineyards, they got to try some of their wines (and grape juice for those who do not drink alcohol) along with some nice bread and cheese.

Another highlight of their program was visiting “Roots Radicals” which is an authentic, handcrafted and zero-waste food company that aims to reconnect people with food. They met the company’s founder Monica Kisic and sampled some of the products during a tour of the kitchen production facilities.

Several group meals in authentic German restaurants to get a sense of the local cuisine were provided as well. At one of these restaurants in Ludwigsburg, Julia Schweikert and Cloé Piccamiglio from CEPA met with the group over dinner. It is always a great opportunity to connect personally with members of one of our long-term partner universities who we ran many successful programs with and will continue to do so in the upcoming years.

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