Every year, for the last 8 years,
NEB-FEUP/ICBAS, the Bioengineering Students Association, has organized the Symposium on Bioengineering, an event whose main purpose is the most traditional, yet the most innovative goal: to present to our academic community the most recent and innovative projects with biomedical and biological applications on issues of our modern society. The Symposium on Bioengineering slogan is
Solving Tomorrow, Today, and we intend to accomplish that mission once again this year.
As usual, both national and international speakers of exceptional quality, not only from the Academia but also from the Entrepreneurial world, will be present at this Symposium - the largest student-organised Bioengineering event in Portugal, taking into account previous editions attendance and success. By encouraging communication and knowledge sharing among students, academics, industry and start-ups in an event which comprises Biological/Biomedical Engineering and Molecular Biotechnology, we aim to better portray the current state of Bioengineering, particularly in the Portuguese scientific scenery.
This year, we focus not only on specific issues for each area, but also on the convergence between all three major branches of Bioengineering. In keeping with the great diversity which is associated with Bioengineering, this programme includes two very distinct panels specific to each one of the three branches of the course: Biomedical Engineering, Biological Engineering and Molecular Biotechnology. In addition, two other panels were designed to be as transversal as possible,so as to portray the interdisciplinarity of several areas to which Bioengineering has yet to contribute significantly.
Focusing on
Biological Engineering, the program will include nanotechnology and tissue engineering at the service of food technology. Besides, we will also have on stage some of the most interesting and innovative solutions to the global threat of multi-drug resistant bacteria, at a time when some experts claim that we are already living in a post-antibiotic era.
Regarding
Molecular Biotechnology we will discuss new approaches to the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of some of the biggest causes of death around the world such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and HIV/AIDS, using cutting-edge techniques of genome editing, genetic testing and immunotherapy. Additionally, the event will count with fascinating applications of stem cells and biomaterials in regenerative medicine, drug delivery and 3D bioprinting of live tissues.
Concerning
Biomedical Engineering innovative solutions to assist or rehabilitate those who have physical or mental limitations will be explored. Following the trends happening in global healthcare, we will also focus on the use of Deep Learning algorithms, Data Science and Augmented/Virtual Reality.
True to the plurality of Bioengineering, the event also counts with two multidisciplinary panels where the three aforementioned areas intersect. In the first one, we take a look at the Animal Kingdom with a focus on how Engineering can be used as a tool to improve Animal Welfare and on the second we explore how Space is opening up new frontiers in understanding Earth's Biology. A panel on
Bioentrepreneurship is included in order to show the testimonies of entrepreneurs and understand the evolution of ideia-to-company in each case. Lastly,
MIB/MEB™ aims to show the work developed by students who recently finished their Master's Degree on Bioengineering or Biomedical Engineering, in FEUP/ICBAS.
Contributing in the creation of this rich panel of speakers is our
Scientific Committee, whose members have a profoundly distinct academic background, in such a way that their contributions most certainly provide for the interdisciplinarity desired for this event. Relying on the conjunction of researchers and professors with different experiences and personalities, no other outcome ought to be expected except a strongly cohese, dynamic and inclusive programme.
The work of researchers from different countries will contribute to this 8th edition of the Symposium in accomplishing a solid and up-to-date event, broadening the horizons and spiking the curiosity of future Bioengineers. This is, after all, the apogee of our vision, Solving Tomorrow, Today.
If Bioengineering is a field of unlimited and yet-to-be-imagined applications, then Portugal has the talented and hard-working people to, once again, 500 years later, set sail from the safe harbor and venture further afield in this world of discoveries. Communication and partnership with different countries, projects and mindsets are key for a new chapter in the convergence of Life Sciences and Technology. Above all, one must know more to further idealize and concretize. And the 9th Symposium on Bioengineering is just the right event to do it - save the date!
