This joint NordPlant/UPSCALE, NPPN and PhotoSyntech workshop on”Crop field and algae phenotyping” will take place in Oslo, 20 March 2024.
For more information go here.
Category: News
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Crop field and algae phenotyping workshop in Oslo, March 20. 2024
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Workshop March 13th: Visual science communication
Photosyntech is happy to invite our PhD members to a 1-day science visualisation workshop on Communicating science visually – the power of visualisation and how to implement practices of design with Meike Latz.
This workshop consists of lectures and short practical exercises on how to create scientific visualisations that clearly communicate your message. We will learn about concepts from cognitive psychology and visual perception that explain what makes a visualisation effective, draw from Graphic Design knowledge on layout, colour and typography, define the steps in the design process of a visualisation that you will directly apply in small exercises, discuss common visual formats used in science communication (eg posters, graphical abstracts), and compare software options for creating your visualisations.
The afternoon part of the workshop will be an introduction to Adobe Illustrator and how to use it for creating illustrations, prettify data visualisations and compose figures for publication. Afterwards, workshop participants will work on their own and create their first simple illustrations under the guidance and with help of the workshop leader.
- Date: 13th March
- Duration: one day
- Max. number participant: 20
- Type of activity : 1 day workshop
- Location: online
- Instructor: Maike Latz
Registration deadline is closed. Participants will get a meeting call as confirmation with log-in information.
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Webinar Jan 22nd at 10:00: How to start your own business
In this Photosyntech webinar Sturla Winther from Brønnøysundregisteret will take you through how to start your own business. From what to do in which order and things you must be aware of.
The webinar will be on Zoom
https://uit.zoom.us/j/64086157632?pwd=MXc2S09PWElGUmNZQlkyRFI2L0pvQT09Meeting ID: 640 8615 7632
Password: 233555 -
Vacancies at NTNU: Two PhD candidates and one Researcher
Department of Biology at NTNU has 3 vacancies in plant cell and stress in the ERC synergy HYDROSENSING project.
Job advertisement for Two PhD Candidates in Plant Cell or Plant Stress Biology
Job advertisement for a 5-year Researcher in Plant Cell and Stress Biology
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Webinar Feb 7th at 11:00: How can we effectively use AI for research?
Welcome to the webinar “How can we effectively use AI for research?” with Avidnote.
Zoom meeting:
https://uit.zoom.us/j/61476076389?pwd=MmVqaFdKVzhJM3QvdnhqL2FtR2pjQT09
Abderisak Adam from Avidnote will give an introduction on how we can use AI is a tool for more efficient research. How can we use AI in data collections, analysis, the writing process, proof reading, etc.? What are the pitfalls with AI we should be aware of and how can we use the tools Avidnote provide for free.
PHOTO: YURI ARCURS/mostphotos.com Avidnote is a tool for researchers and is developed by researchers.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://uit.zoom.us/j/61476076389?pwd=MmVqaFdKVzhJM3QvdnhqL2FtR2pjQT09
Meeting ID: 614 7607 6389
Password: 704661
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You can now apply for the 2024 Photosyntech internship grant
Photosyntech encourages its student members to do an internship/work-placement during their PhD journey. We especially encourage PhD candidates in the second half of their PhD journey to apply, but all applicants are welcome.
The internship could be in a company or public organization, must have the primary aim to support your career development and/or is expected to improve knowledge/skills transfer between university and society. It can involve shadowing someone to learn more about the company, doing a project for the company or to acquire expertise/skills.
Requirements
- You must be a Photosyntech PhD member to apply for this grant (associate members cannot receive grants).
- The minimum length of the internship can be 1 week.
- The maximum length of the internship can be 3 months.
- The grant can be used to cover travel and accommodations.
- The grant cannot be used to cover food expenses or salary coverage.
- The maximum amount that can be applied for is 30.000 NOK. Final funding sum can be adjusted dependent on number of applications and appropriateness of the budget.
How to apply
The application must include (maximum 3 pages including budget);
- The amount you are applying for.
- Where you will do your internship (include a contact person)
- Short description of the internship plans
- How the internship will benefit you
- Length of internship
- Itemized budget
Submit the application by email to photosyntech@uit.no stating “Internship application” in the topic line.
Assessment criteria
The applications will be assessed based on the following criteria:
- How the internship will promote your career development.
- How the internship will be aligned with Photosyntechs mission; to enable PhD candidates to get an education that is tailored in the best possible way to their topics they burn for as well as to the needs of society, and to give them broader and more relevant career perspectives.
- Appropriateness of budget.
Deadline
This is an open call until further notice, so you can send your application at any time but no less than 2 months ahead of the planned internship. Applications will be considered by the leader group of Photosyntech continuously. Response will be given within 1 month of complete application submission.
Report after internships
Recipients of the internship grant must deliver a short report (2 pages) after concluding the internship with pictures and/or videos that can be used on Photosyntechs Instagram and or the website. Therefore, no confidential information must be included in the report.
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Webinar Nov 27. at 11:00 with Kelpinor on future projects with collaboration possibilities
Kelpinor is a climate action company cultivating seaweed at large scale for food, energy and materials. In this webinar they will present their company and future projects which might be relevant to Photosyntech members. This includes linking environmental data to the growth and breakdown of cultivated kelp, and collaboration with Nord University which builds on their work in the field of macroalgae.
Join us on Zoom to learn more about the exciting company Kelpinor and possibilities for collaborations.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://nord.zoom.us/j/67432493643?pwd=WVNHZCtobThrQVNha0V0dlZJeTR2Zz09Meeting ID: 674 3249 3643
Passcode: 418246
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Webinar Dec. 12th at 14:00: Polar Algae on producing value added products from macroalgae
Join us for an industry presentation from the team at Polar Algae AS located in Hammerfest. They bring an innovative perspective on producing value added products from Arctic stocks of macroalgae. This presentation should be suited to the various aspects of Photosyntech from the basic ecology of Polar seaweeds to the advantages and challenges of working with these organisms in the Arctic circle.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://uit.zoom.us/j/65798506762?pwd=b3BlN0JqV1QwajBuUmNRbVI3YnNuUT09
Meeting ID: 657 9850 6762
Password: 706347 -
Are you the next process engineer at FjordAlg?
FjordAlg is a biotech startup with currently consisting of a team of 4 based in modern facilites in Årdal Teknologipark. We are about to scale up our manufacturing operations of a microalgae-based pigmentation source for natural pigmentation of salmon, after a few years of succesful pilot operations and product testing.
Role Description
This is a full-time, on-site role located in Øvre Årdal, Norway for a Process Engineer at FjordAlg AS. As a Process Engineer, you will be responsible for designing, optimizing, scale-up and monitoring our algae production process.
Daily tasks will include setting up and running algae culture experiments in lab and pilot, purchasing and taking into operation new equipment, data analysis and process optimization.
Qualifications
- Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Biology or a related field, or Bachelor + minimum 2 years relevant experience
- Strong knowledge of process design, optimization, and monitoring techniques
- Experience with data analysis tools and programming languages (Python or similar)
- Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and communication skills
- Self-starter with ability to work effectively in a team environment and collaborate with cross-functional teams
- Fluency in Norwegian and English is preferred
- Experience in the food and beverage, biotechnology, or pharmaceutical industries is a plus
- Passion for sustainability and the environment is strongly desired
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ERC grant on securing food supplies
ERC grants an international research group EUR 10 million to study how plants cope with drought. NTNU with Thorsten Hamann contributes with expertise and advanced equipment. Congratulations!
News about this
Researchers get millions to secure food supplies
Synergy Grants 2023: Examples of projects
Norsk braksuksess i ERC-tildeling, disse får millioner
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Job announcement: Substitute instructor for MSc course in Molecular Biology at INN
Job announcement: Substitute instructor for MSc course in Molecular Biology at INN The Department of Biotechnology at Inland Norway University of Applied Science (INN) is looking for postdoctoral candidates or Associate Professors who can cover instruction in our MSc course entitled Methods in Molecular Biology during January – mid-March 2024 (negotiable). Enrolment in this course for spring semester is expected to be 6-9 students.
The instruction involves 20 hours of lectures in the topics listed below, where all the PowerPoint presentations and previous exam questions will be made available. In addition to lecturing, authoring exam questions and grading exams are also tasks candidates will need to perform.
It should be noted that an additional 20 hours of lectures will be conducted by departmental academic staff member, Robert Wilson, who will also devise half of the exam questions which he will also grade.
In addition, there is a set of two laboratory exercises collectively spanning 6 days, but, if needed, the lab course can instead be assigned to PhD students who can serve as instructors. The lab manual will be provided; the first exercise involves RNA extraction from two Arabidopsis tissue samples (one untreated and one cold-treated), reverse transcription, quantitative PCR and data analysis. The second exercise involves In Fusion-based construction of an inducible, reporter gene construct for His-tagged recombinant protein expression in E. coli. Induced transformants will be analyzed by confocal microscopy. Lab instructors will be required to assess a preliminary laboratory report and a final submission report from each student on a passed/not passed basis. Candidates interested in this engagement are encouraged to contact Head of Department, Dr. Frøydis D. Myromslien (froydis.myromslien@inn.no; +47 957 88 918) for terms of employment and renumeration.
LECTURE TOPICS to be covered by the substitute instructor
Molecular cloning methods
- Traditional cloning § In Fusion Cloning
- Gateway cloning
- Golden Gate/Brain cloning and assembly
- TOPO cloning
- Weakness and strength of the methods
Analysis of RNA
- RT-qPCR (including various chemistries, data analysis, controls and interpretation of results)
- Northern Blotting (principle, usage today)
- RNA FISH (principle, usage)
- RNA sequencing (not how to generate the sequences, but methods for analyzing the data, including strengths and limitations)
Metaomics
- Case study approach
- 16S rDNA sequencing
- Meta-omics
- Meta-transcriptomics
Genome engineering
- Type of genome editing (knockouts, site[1]directed mutagenesis, transgenesis and cisgenesis, etc.)
- Selection of the appropriate gene editing technology
- CRISPR/Cas9 (including base-editing and prime-editing)
- CRISPR/Cas13 § CRISPR/Cas12
- Application of the CRISPR technology in agriculture and medicine (both treatment and diagnostics)
- Case study: how to perform a base[1]editing experiment in plants from A to Z
- RNAi (principles and vector design)
- Homologous recombination
Proteomics
- YH2
- 3D electrophoresis and DIGE
- Introduction to MS
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Webinar Oct. 18th at 13:00: BOTanist on precision plant care using novel sensor systems
We are happy to invite you to a Webinar with the promising startup company BOTanist Wednesday October the 18th at 13:00.
The BOTanist team
BOTanist AS is an innovative startup in precision plant care that concentrates on the development of novel sensor systems aimed at precision agriculture and plant care. The primary objectives of the company include the reduction of emissions, cost minimization, and enhancement of crop yields.
Jonathan Eide, the CEO and CTO of BOTanist will present BOTanist, their goals, the need for their technology and about their technology development. The webinar will be about:
- BOTanist and their goal to create the world’s first cost-efficient soil sensor system for mass monitoring of soil moisture and nutrient levels
- The importance of soil measurement in agriculture and technology landscape
- BOTanitst technology: Low-cost, but high performance. soil measurement technique, system overview, and performance
- Where BOTanist is now and the path forward to create a commercial product
The Webinar is on Zoom
https://uit.zoom.us/j/64380789763?pwd=cDNNMkVYQWlDQWNPd2tqQ3JXbXJVQT09Meeting ID: 643 8078 9763
Password: 472769 -
Visit industry and businesses in Troms September 4th and 5th
We are happy to invite our PhD candidate members to a “mini tour” of buisnesses the 4th and 5th of September. We provide accomodation at Finnsnes between these two days, dinner on Monday and lunch on Tuesday.
Sign up and get to know relevant Norwegian businesses and build your network with both them and other PhDs in Norway.
Thanks to our business mentor Ulrike for arranging this with her network.
Deadline for signing up was Aug. 15th, 2023.
Monday september 4th, 2023
09:00 Drive from Tromsø (Drivers: Sunniva and Kirsten)
11:00 Agriculture of vegetables
- Presentation from Norsk landbruksrådgivning Nord-Norge
- Presentation from Graminor
- Tour of research area
Bring your own lunch
15:00 Forest industry
- Visit forest production area
- Current issues in the north with County Governor of Troms and Finnmark
- Possibly: Visit to biofuel plant
18:00 Dinner and socializing
Dinner and accommodation will be provided
Tuesday september 5th, 2023
09:00 Departure RIB boat from Finnsnes to Jøvik (car if bad weather)
09:30 Aquaculture, algae and sludge at SalMar Jøvik
- Current issues of aquaculture, algae growth and sludge
- Visit to the smolt production plant
11:30 Return to Finnsnes
12:30 Circular economy, algae, innovation and carbon capture at Finnfjord AS.
- Information about the Finnfjord projects on using algae to become green
- Tour of the plant
Lunch will be provided
18:30 Latest arrival in Tromsø
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Vacant PhD scholarship within plant biology and epigenetics
The Department of Plant Sciences, Faculty of Biosciences at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) has a vacant 3-year PhD–position related to plant molecular biology, epigenetics and bioinformatics.
See the advertisment here.
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12th SPPS PhD conference 27-29 Sept. in Lund, Sweden
One of the networks we are part of is SPPS. Their PhD conference in September is relevant for all our PhD candidate members and we encourage you to sign up and go.
“The main topic of the 12th SPPS PhD Student Conference is the process of doctoral studies. Our speakers will cover scientific, formal and personal aspects of being a PhD student. You will be able to discuss your projects in smaller groups, share your experience and ask questions.”
For program, details and registration go here.
See you there!
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Webinar April 13th: Using biotech to accelerate breeding and development of crops
Managing director Dr. Jon Falk from Saaten-Union Biotec GmbH will present an introduction to the biotechnology used at SU Biotec to speed up the development of high-yielding crops with new breeding techniques, improved photosynthesis, and AI applications.
SU Biotec involves 8 plant breeding company members, with two main premises located in Germany. Their main goal is bridging basic with applied research, so they are in constant contact with private and public research centers to take part in R&D projects and transfer the results to practical plant breeding. They utilize technologies like flow cytometry, tissue cultures, and molecular markers to assist the selection process of ideal plant traits. Better crop plants are vital for healthy and safe food, and breeding better crop plants depends on scientific progress.
You will be able to ask questions after the presentation. You can read more about SU Biotec’s work here: https://www.saaten-union-biotec.com/
Our UiT ambassador Corine Faehn is the is the moderator of this webinar.
Thursday April 13th 14:00-15:00
Join Zoom Meeting
https://uit.zoom.us/j/66710441469?pwd=ZTdodVNUdGhvanFCTDNldkVQRmRzQT09
Meeting ID: 667 1044 1469
Password: 630602
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PhD position avalible at AWI
AWI invites applications from outstanding candidates for this position, subject to funding by the Norwegian Research council. You will become part of the seaweed working group (Dr. Inka Bartsch) at the Alfred-Wegener Institute (AWI), Helmholtz Centre for Marine and Polar Science, in Bremerhaven in the department Biology, section ‘Functional Ecology’. Project lead is at Faculty of Biosciences and Aquaculture, Nord University (Bodø, Norway), thereby you will become part of an interdisciplinary multi-national research team.
Application deadline March 31st, 2023.
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Job opportunity in FjordAlg AS as an algae grower
Do you want to create a new microbiological industry in beautiful surroundings between mountains and fjords and contribute to FjordAlg‘s goal of an algae factory?
Want to be part of the FjordAlg team?
FjordAlg is starting a project to scale up the production process and need a new employee who can start as soon as possible. The project they are hiring for lasts for 6 – 8 months, but there are good opportunities for extending the employment.
They are looking for you that:
- Enjoy working in a laboratory
- Knows basic techniques in microbiology
Formal competence in biotechnology, chemistry or biology is a plus, but not a requirement.
It is of course an advantage if you have worked with microalgae before.
The tasks are varied and can be adapted to your skills and background. They deal with start-up, operation, sampling and analysis of algae cultures grown in various reactors.
FjordAlg can assist you in finding housing in an area with beautiful surroundings and room for many nature experiences.
Go here for the annoncement and application process.
Contact info for this position:
CEO Gabriel Ossenkamp, phone:95030335, E-mail:g.ossenkamp@fjordalg.com
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Feb 28th: Visit the potato company Tromspotet and side dish company Kokt og klar
Our Buisness mentor Ulrike Naumann is inviting our PhD candidates to visit the potato company Tromspotet, and the side dish company Kokt og klar (“boiled ready”) outside of Finnsnes (Silsand to be exact) Tuesday the 28th of February. If you want to join send an email to photosyntech.no.
Exact program will be determined later.
The speed boat leaves Tromsø at 07.00 and the returning boat arrives Tromsø at 19.15.
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Jan 10th: New deadline to sign up for Modelling in systems biolgy course
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Postdoc position available at NTNU: Coordination between cell wall integrity and cell cycle activity in plants
Department of Biology at NTNU has a new Postdoc vacancy:
Postdoctor on the project “Wall2Cycle: Coordination between cell wall integrity and cell cycle activity in plants” (3 years) (236789) | NTNU – Norwegian University of Science and Technology (jobbnorge.no)
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Join the NOVA PhD course Genomics-based plant breeding for climate adaptation in January
5 ECTS
Time: 22-27 January, 2023. Location: Trolltun Gjestegård, Dombås, Norway
The course will provide PhD students with theoretical background and practical examples of using plant breeding methods to adapt plant material to changing climate conditions. The main focus will be on abiotic stress tolerance – and how knowledge on stress responses and tolerance mechanisms can be used to breed new crop plants with improved climate adaptation. In addition to giving examples of conventional breeding and selection methods, the course will provide insight into new methods like marker-based breeding, genomic selection, genome editing, speed breeding and sensor-based phenotyping methods as tools to achieve plants with improved stress tolerance. The overall goal is to support the development of sustainable food production systems in the Nordic countries.
Application deadline: Dec. 1st, 2022.
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PhD course at SLU Alnarp/Lund: “Common Data Standards and Integrative Analytic Methods for Plant Phenotyping”
One of our External advisors, Erik Alexandersson, offers this to Photosyntech student members:
If someone within the Photosyntech research school is interested, we still have, even if deadline just past (15 Oct), a couple of places for the NOVA PhD course at SLU Alnarp/Lund: “Common Data Standards and Integrative Analytic Methods for Plant Phenotyping”, 3 ECTS, 28 November – 2 December 2022
The changing climate requires the development of faster breeding methods. This course is part of a series that aims to introduce the emerging research fields of high throughput plant phenotyping and omics technologies (including bioinformatics). The focus of the course is on computational solutions for handling and analyzing plant phenotyping data.
The course will introduce the following methods:
Automated and image based plant phenotyping technologies that are intended to remove bottlenecks between genotype and phenotype screens
- High throughput field phenotyping technologies
- The use of analysis tools including R to analyze plant phenotype and -omics data
- The use of common standards for data handling, metadata generation using ontologies and data storage
Deadline for application is 15 October 2022. Students will be admitted until the course has reached maximum capacity.
More information and application here
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Online lecture “The Swedish Algae Factory”
One of our external advisors, Angela Wulff, is giving an online lecture about her company “The Swedish Algae Factory” this Thursday. The lecture is part of a UiT course (Industrial Biotechnology BIO-3610) and Photosyntech members are welcome to join this guest lecture.
Time: 14.00-16.00, October 13.
Location: Zoom (join by clicking here).
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More robust agriculture in Norway
In Nordnorsk debatt we put the spotlight on the need for more robust agriculture in Norway and how our new graduate school can contribute to this.
Read our chronicle in Nordnorsk debatt
Foto: Tromspotet -
Kick-off meeting in Trondheim
Most of the participants at the kick-off. In August we had the Photosyntech Kick-off meeting in Trondheim.
We discussed how we will work within the school and the frameworks for courses, grants, and organization. We also got to know each other a bit more. Inn addition, the student council and the steering committee also had their first meetings.
