International CASEE winter school Food Environment and Health Risk Assessment
The Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra and the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences (FBFS), in cooperation with the AgroBioTech Research Center and CASEE universities, organized the online international CASEE winter school Food Environment and Health Risk Assessment in the Danube Region (DanubeFEHRA). It took place from 25 January to 5 February.
Vice-Rector of SUA for Strategic Development doc. Drahoslav Lančarič and Dean of the Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences prof. Norbert Lukáč highlighted the cooperation with CASEE members and the international interest at the opening ceremony, as evidenced by the participation of 13 students and doctoral students from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, Poland, Brazil and Slovakia.
Professional program of the winter school under the guarantee of prof. Adriana Kolesárová, Vice-Dean of FBFS and Ing. Eva Ivanišová, PhD., consisted of virtual excursions, practical seminars and scientific lectures led by renowned experts from twelve countries - the Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Spain, Thailand, India, Brazil and Slovakia. Through the lectures, participants gained new information about non-traditional food sources, insect products and the quality of organic food, as well as about bioactive substances and their effects on reproductive functions, the immune system and diabetes. Participants gained knowledge about risk factors in the food chain, heavy metals, pesticide residues in food, mycotoxins and food allergens. The winter school also offered knowledge of nutrigenomics, sensometrics and sensory analysis, wine, honey, cereals and coffee. Other lectures were focused on drying technology, microencapsulation, sous-vide technology for meat products, but also on trends in brewing and food packaging. In addition, participants listened to a lecture on COVID 19 and its impact on the agri-food sector. Virtual tours offered interesting facts about coffee - from grain to cup, wine tasting or an excursion to the AgroBioTech Research Center. In addition to scientific information, there was also an interesting lecture on how to increase your "personal brand" during the recruitment process.
Participants were sent certificates of completion of the winter school (4 ECTS), as well as kind attention in the form of a package with original representative items. In addition to gaining valuable professional and scientific knowledge, it was also a great benefit for them to make new friendships, contacts and improve their English.
CASEE winter school was held online for the first time, which was a big challenge for our institution. We believe that we will continue this trend and will continue to implement other professional and scientific online events at a high level in the future.
