UL research competences draw great interest at the largest conference of life sciences

Life Sciences Baltics 2018 (LSB 2018) is the only international forum in the Baltics bringing together world-class biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical devices experts from all around the world. This year, the conference was held in Vilnius. Throughout September 26 and 27 the UL representatives introduced the event attendees with the extensive variety of cooperation opportunities with the UL. The UL researchers Mārtiņš Borodušķis, Vaira Obuka and Kaspars Jēkabsons participated at the conference. Alongside the conference, the event encompassed an exhibition of products and services offered by the enterprises and organisations. Among the 70 participants, the UL stand attracted a great interest. “Young people and students were interested in studies and internships, while the enterprises sought specific collaboration with regard to the UL scientific competences in form of contract research. International researchers, in turn, discussed opportunities of partnership in cooperation projects, involving both applied and fundamental research”, observed V. Obruka.     During the conference, the UL representatives participated in several B2B meetings, where cooperation opportunities were discussed in greater detail. “The British Embassy organised our participation in a short film about the cooperation of Baltic universities with Great Britain, where the we described the current collaboration between UL and Great Britain in the spheres of education, shared development of research projects,” recounted K. Jēkabsons.  A particular accomplishment brought to the conference by the UL representatives was the startup “Alternative Plants” established by Mārtiņš Borodušķis and Anna Ramata-Stunda. This enterprise, which uses plant biotechnology to effectively produce valuable bioactive ingredients, was awarded the second place in the competition Pitch Challenge, where the enterprises, their products and services are presented to selection panel and potential investors. “Alternative Plants” establish plant stem cell cultures and use them for efficient and standardised production of ingredients for cosmetic, medical and pharma industries. In the competition among 26 enterprises, “Alternative Plants” won the legal advice package provided by the company “Rödl & Partner”. After the event, the UL representatives agreed that LSB 2018 was a unique opportunity to meet the leading world class experts in life sciences, explore the new horizons of partnerships, exchange ideas, seek progress and shared interests for developing innovative ideas through networking. Conference was attended by 1800 participants from 30 countries.