Training activities

HealthFerm partners jointly organise a series of webinars, workshops, spring/autumn schools for network-level training of junior and senior researchers in each of the project areas.

Workshops and spring/summer school activities take place in conjunction with either project or Healthgrain Forum (HGF) meetings. HGF holds bi-annual networking workshops where key experts in the field meet and work to develop improved grain-based foods for better nutrition with the help of superior science. The HealthFerm partners and other HGF members have strong contacts with other relevant academics, major industries, public authorities and NGOs, allowing to draw from a large pool of experts of different disciplines. HGF supports the organisation of autumn schools and spring meetings during the project, networking of HealthFerm junior scientists with the relevant industrial/academic bodies and act as a platform to continue the training after the project ends.

HGF organises relevant webinars that cover state of the art knowledge on topics related to the project objectives. The activities implement content on programmes on food-chain sustainability and major scientific disciplines in the project, developing understanding across disciplines and creating training in the form of lectures from partners and leading visiting scientists.

Training and capacity building activities in 2023 consist of three webinars and two workshops. The dates, times and full programmes will follow once available.

Schedule 2023

4th of September 2023 - Workshop on omics principles in fermentation technology

This workshop will be held in connection to the annual HealthFerm project meeting at ETH Zürich.

12.30 - 13.30 Special IFNH Lunch Seminar

Exploring microbial diversity and health promotion with fermented food- Maria Marco (UC Davis)

14.00 - 17.00 HealthFerm Workshop (only for registered HealthFerm consortium partners)

14.00-15.00: Non-targeted metabolic profiling of sourdough and other fermented foods - Anna Kårlund (University of Turku)

15.00-16.00: High-throughput DNA sequence analysis for microbiome profiling - Nicholas Bokulich (ETH Zürich)

16.00-17.00: Fingerprinting methods for characterizing fermented foods - Laura Nyström (ETH Zürich)

17.00 - 20.00 BBQ and tasting of fermented foods (only for registered HealthFerm consortium partners)

15th of June 2023, 10:30 AM-12:00 PM CEST - Webinar on nutrition and health, with a focus on gastrointestinal physiology and colonic physiology

This webinar will introduce you to the science of digestive health and fermented cereals and pulses.

Experts: Prof. K. Verbeke (KU Leuven, Belgium), Prof. R. Landberg (Chalmers University, Sweden)

Recording of the webinar: please click here
Presentation from Prof. Verbeke: please click here
Presentation from Prof. Landberg: please click here

26th-27th of April 2023 - HealthGrain Forum workshop

Location: Leuven, Belgium

The HealthGrain Forum workshop in April 2023 promises to be an engaging and lively event!

Join us on Wednesday, the 26th of April for a visit at Puratos facilities in Groot-Bijgaarden (starting from 09:00 CEST), an afternoon workshop with presentations on the EU project InnoFoodAfrica results, the HGF General Assembly meeting, and a networking dinner in Brussels.

On Thursday, the 27th of April (9:00-13:00 CEST), a workshop at KU Leuven Arenberg Castle Auditorium will take place in collaboration with the EU research project HealthFerm focusing on the state of the art of fermentation processes in relation to sensory quality, food safety and shelf life.

==> Discover the final programme here!

Further information: please click here

You can also attend this workshop online following this link.

24th of February 2023 - Webinar on fermentation principles of grains and pulses, state of the art and scientific challenges

Learn more about the state of the art on microbial fermentation technologies that are used to produce foods. The impact of the fermentation processes on food composition and nutritional attributes will be presented in relation to the raw materials used to produce final products. The presentations will cover a selection of microbes, conditions of the fermentation processed in solid, semi solid and liquid products and potential control of the fermentation processes.

Experts: Prof. M. Gobbetti (University of Bozen-Bolzano, Italy) and Dr R. Coda (University of Helsinki, Finland)

Recording of the webinar: please click here
Presentation from Dr R. Coda: please click here
Presentation from Prof. Gobetti: please click here

6th-8th of November 2023 - Symposium at the EFFoST conference 2023 - Process technology based on fermentation principles: the dos and don’ts

Location: Valencia, Spain

More info to follow soon!

14th-17th of November 2023 - Symposium at the FENS conference - Programme on the nutritional benefits of fermented plant-based foods

Location: Belgrade, Serbia

More info to follow soon!