Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry

The exhibition "From birch seed to betulin" has been opened at the Pharmacy Museum, Riharda Vagnera Street 13, Riga, which shows the wide and innovative possibilities of using birch in an engaging way. Scientists from the Biorefinery Laboratory of the Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry participated in the preparation of the exhibition together with cooperation partners. The exhibition is open till April 19, 2025. Pharmacy Museum

The national final of the "Bio-based Innovation Student Challenge Europe BISC-E" will take place at the end of April 2025. BISC-E is an annual event organised by the Bio-Based Industries Consortium to reward outstanding students working in the bioeconomy who are ready to actively, creatively and skillfully address the technological challenges faced by society today. The website of the international competition can be found here Latvian university students are invited to take part in a competition in which student teams must present their innovation - an environmentally friendly, sustainable product or technology. The Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry organises the National final of the BISC-E competition. Participants are invited to register their teams by 15 December by emailing the BISC-E local contact Uģis Cābulis (ugis.cabulis@kki.lv). To register, please send the team name, the names of the team members and the consultant, as well as a description of the innovation in up to 150 words in English. The teams will afterwards prepare full descriptions of their innovations and give presentations at the National final, which will take place during the Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry's Student Conference in April 2025. During the National final, a jury will select the winner, who will receive a cash prize and the opportunity to participate in the European final.

The first International Conference for Young Scientists on Biorefinery Technologies and Products "BTechPro!" was established in 2022 by the Latvian State Institute of Wood Chemistry, and so far it has gained a lot of recognition and proven to be a valuable platform for students and early stage researchers to actively present their research topics, attend workshops and plenary lectures, and participate in networking activities. The previous BTechPro! edition gathered almost 100 participants from 14 countries. Information about the conference is available on www.btechpro.lv. The next BTechPro! conference will be held in 2026, and more details will be published soon. The organisers may be contacted by e-mail btechpro@kki.lv (for participants, sponsors, lecturers, partners).