At the first excursion of the 2016 greenXchange program, 28 young professionals from Israel and Germany visited the Forschungszentrum Jülich (Jülich Research Center – FZJ). The FZJ is part of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers, the largest scientific organization in Germany. Forschungszentrum Jülich was founded in 1956 as an "atomic research establishment" by the state parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). Nowadays the research center with an annual revenue of over half a billion Euros is funded by the German Federal government, the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia and third party collaborations and research grants.
During their tour, the participants received an introduction into the research that is done at FZJ and can be clustered into two themes: energy and environment, and information and the brain. The introduction was followed by a discussion about international cooperation at FZJ and new technologies that have been developed at the center. Participants were particularly impressed by the plethora of high-tech applications that have resulted from basic research such as environmental sensors, a supercomputer, and brain electrodes to treat conditions like tinnitus.
The focus of the second part of the visit was to learn more about the research environment and the current state of two projects at the intersection at bioeconomy and biotechnology: the cultivation of algae for bio-jet fuels and tools for soil analysis.
The cultivation of algae for the production of jet fuels takes place at the Plant Sciences division of the Institute of Bio- and Geosciences. Doctoral researcher Charlotte Dietrich explained her research to the participants and introduced them to the cultivation facilities including proprietary technologies at FZJ, such as high-tech seeding robots and novel phenotyping systems using rhizotrons for tracking plant root development non-invasively.
Doctoral researcher Anne Klosterhalfen explained tools for soil analysis of the IBG-3 modeling project that have been developed to measure a wide set of parameters of soil properties to understand how to improve the soil to a maximum of efficiency for plant cultivation. The “HPSC” and “lysimeter” machines measure soil quality, the flux of water and CO-2 content, and thereby help researchers to establish an understanding to soil preservation. In the future, agronomists will be able to optimize their crop selection according to soil quality and adapt it to climate change.
Forschungszentrum Jülich inspired greenXchange participants to further improve their knowledge about the current state of basic research in bioscience and to look for opportunities of cooperation between scientific research institutions and the greenXchange network with the aim of introducing innovative technologies for sustainability.
After the success of last years' "Natürlich for Israel" Congress in Stuttgart we are happy to announce the upcoming "Natürlich for Israel" Congress in Cologne. It will take place in the municipal formal park Flora Cologne on September, 11th and comprise talks that are related to the topic coexistence. Read more about the program in this flyer or learn more about the congress and the topic of coexistence in the following video.
Click the teaser for more information.
If you want to participate in the whole workshop, 09.-11.05.2014, please write us an email greenXchange@jnf-kkl.de.
Veranstaltung 09.05.2014
What has this been about? As we enter the second decade of the 21st century, humanity is facing an increasing number of national and international environmental challenges. Consequently, a 31 Israelis and Germans explored Israel’s and Germany’s International Green Agendas in this Future Workshop, 09.-11.05.2014, in Berlin.
High class speakers from German and Israeli institutions as well as practitioners from both countries described experiences and practices with a focus on international politics. The weekend was kicked-off with an open audience fireside chatat the exclusive Representation of the Free State of Saxony in Berlin.
The workshop explored best practice ideas and generated bilateral learning effects. Next to the reflection of global and national necessities for becoming active, programs and projects to meet challenges in the context of climate change had been addressed.
Find the detailed program and more background on the workshop here.
Find the detailed workshop summary here.
Do you have additional questions? Don't hesitate to ask us at greenXchange@JNF-KKL.de or JuFo@DIGev.de.
From March 28th-31st, greenXchangers to met in the context of the KKL-JNF European Leadership Conference. They discussed the plans for 2014 and beyond and presented the greenXchange project in front of European KKL-JNF leaders in Brussels.
17 greenXchangers from Israel and Germany were joined by colleagues from other KKL-JNF offices from France, Greece, Italy, and others!
Creative and sustainable – greenXchangers meet in Berlin
On November 9th, 2013, greenXchangers met in Berlin for a workshop day. First, the young professionals took part in an inspiring sustainability city tour experiencing green city projects in Berlin such as urban gardens and passive houses.
Second, the group met with a representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), one of the major political foundations in Germany, getting to know the KAS focusses in project evaluation. Afterwards the group discussed the current state and future of greenXchange.
The greenXchange meeting was finalized on the following day with the “IsraelCongress”, which was long awaited and set into joyful prospect. KKL-JNF was not only the Congress' strategic partner, but also presented its history with a large exhibition, at which also greenXchange was displayed. Thereby, details were provided about greenXchange with its innovative green young leadership concept. In addition, networks were formed with other exhibitors and greenXchangers joined lively discussions in the Congress' labs.
left: Susan Sideropoulos draws lots for the KKL-JNF raffle in front of the greenXchange stand-up display