Colombian and European researchers are exchanging knowledge while training a whole new generation of engineers, thanks to the bond between a Colombian chemical engineer at the Universidad del Valle (Univalle) and a research group at the Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin).
Since 2007/08, the number of Colombian students with scholarships in Germany has almost tripled to 3,731 students by 2021/22, according to figures from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
Professor Howard Ramírez, Head and Founder of the Applied Chemical and Biological Processes Research Group (BIOQUIMAP), explained that he also went to study in Germany thanks to a DAAD scholarship and now his research group at Univalle has had a collaboration of approximately 10 years with Professor Peter Neubauer, Chair of Bioprocess Engineering, at the Institute of Biotechnology at TU Berlin and Professor Stefan Junne, currently at Aalborg University Esbjerg.
"The geographical valley of the Cauca River has around 238,000 hectares planted with sugar cane and one of our objectives is to add value to the waste generated by this agro-industry: with the help of other universities, and the infrastructure at Univalle, we can create/design innovative processes for the valorisation of waste in the southwest of Colombia," Professor Ramirez said.
Photo: Professor Howard Ramirez, Director of the Applied Chemical and Biological Processes Research Group (BIOQUIMAP). Credit: Andrew James/NCC-FI/Univalle
The Research
In the shade of the leafy courtyard of Univalle’s School of Chemical Engineering, the researchers talked about how Professor Ramirez's internship and doctoral study was the seed for a long, close collaboration between TU Berlin and Univalle.
"We would certainly not be here if Professor Howard had not secured a scholarship to study in Germany," Junne said.
Professor Ramirez explained that he has built a network after his studies and encouraged other Univalle professors to do the same.
"We have so many professors in the university with connections abroad, but inside the university, they are like ‘islands’, ‘isolated’; we have to network inside the university as well," Ramirez said.
Prof. Peter Neubauer, Head of Bioprocess Engineering at the Technische Universität Berlin in Germany explained that the economy and research are already global.
"It is clear that the world's problems are not going to be solved by one country, we have to work on them globally; and apply these advanced technologies where they are needed," Professor Neubauer said, adding that other collaborations in Argentina and Ecuador also come from people who studied at his lab in Germany.
Other examples of the relationship between the two institutions have been internships and research projects.
Yessenia Martínez-Ruiz, an industrial engineer and a PhD researcher at Univalle, explained (in 2022) that uncertainty during the rains, due to changing weather conditions, means more interruptions in the hydroelectric power that provides most of Colombia's electricity.
Between June and August 2022, Martínez-Ruiz also did an internship at the Technische Universität Berlin in Germany to further deepen her doctoral research, thanks to the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
Read more from the School of Chemical Engineering: Colombian researchers working on a new source of energy from coffee waste
Leer más de la Escuela de Ingeniería Química: Investigación de Univalle detecta una nueva fuente de energía a partir de los desechos de café
Colombia and Europe
Stefan Junne, who worked for many years with professors Neubauer and Ramirez, but is now an associate professor at Aalborg University Esbjerg in Denmark, explained that Denmark is a small country in Europe focused on the agricultural industry.
"But now in biotechnology and in food production, there are several leading companies," Professor Junne said, adding that Denmark has initiatives to collaborate with countries in the southern hemisphere.
"Probably even more than in Germany, because biotechnology plays a much bigger role compared to the size of the country," Junne said.
Doctoral student Saskia Waldburger said that coming to Colombia was impressive because of what is being done at the research level considering the limited resources compared to labs in Germany.
"It allows us to think outside the box and be more creative with what we already have," Waldburger said.
The financial support of the Federal German Ministry of Education and Science came from project “WasteValor”, grant no. 01DN21003.
If you are interested in contacting the researchers or learning more about the project, please write to the Communications Office Faculty of Engineering: comunicaingenieria(at)correounivalle.edu.co
Cover photo: From left: Professors Stefan Junne and Howard Ramirez; Saskia Waldburger; and Professor Peter Neubauer. Credit: Andrew James/NCC-FI/Univalle
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