The European Summit of Industrial Biotechnology (esib, https://www.esib.at), organized by the Austrian Center of Industrial Biotechnology (ACIB), took place in Graz from November 12 to 14, 2024. With over 500 participants, the conference serves as a central platform for connecting academia and industry by combining carefully selected lectures with networking events. This provided an excellent opportunity to disseminate information about NewCat and engage with stakeholders interested in our innovative approaches.
On Monday, November 11, 2024, preceding the main conference, we conducted a hands-on satellite workshop on Enzyme Modeling and Substrate Docking. This workshop was led by NewCat scientists Artur Góra (POLSL), Tomasz Borowski (IKIFP PAN), Gamze Tanriver (POLSL), and Agata Raczyńska (POLSL), with organizational support from Lukas Rieder (TU Graz). The workshop was fully booked, attracting participants from various career stages and countries worldwide. It received exceptional feedback and was widely regarded as a significant success.
Figure 1. Photograph captured during the satellite workshop Enzyme Modeling and Substrate Docking, organized by the NewCat consortium and hosted at Graz University of Technology.
During esib (November 12–14), we hosted a booth in the “EU corner” of the conference. This enabled us to showcase NewCat effectively through poster presentations, flyer distribution, and engaging conversations with conference attendees. The booth also provided an opportunity to connect with beneficiaries of other EU-funded projects, facilitating collaboration and networking.
Figure 2. Photograph of the NewCat scientists at the NewCat booth located in the EU corner of the ESIB conference. From left to right: Md Sarfaraz Alam, Andrea K. Hönikl, Gamze Tanriver, Artur Góra, Anton Glieder, Lukas Rieder, and Tomasz Borowski.
To complement NewCat’s presence at esib, Lukas Rieder (TU Graz) collaborated with Daniel Kracher (TU Graz, not affiliated with NewCat) to organize a session on Redox Enzymes for Bio-based Chemistry. This session featured lectures from leading experts, including Prof. Miguel Alcalde (CSIC, Spain) on engineering UPOs for organic synthesis, Prof. Sandy Schmidt (RUG, Netherlands) on characterizing and engineering Rieske oxygenases, Prof. Artur Góra (POLSL) on exploring enzyme engineering through water molecule dynamics, and David Schönauer (Aminoverse, Netherlands) on enzyme commercialization. The session concluded with a flash talk by Andrea K. Hönikl (TU Graz) on her groundbreaking work on rapid screening methods for LPMO activity.
Figure 3. Speakers and chairs of the session Redox Enzymes for Bio-based Chemistry. From left to right: David Schönauer, Andrea K. Hönikl, Artur Góra, Daniel Kracher, Miguel Alcalde, Sandy Schmidt, and Lukas Rieder.
In summary, the conference was a resounding success. We extend our congratulations to the organizers of esib for orchestrating such an outstanding event and eagerly look forward to the esib 2026 conference.
All photographs were taken with the consent of the individuals depicted.