TRAINING & EVENTS
The 2nd Research Colloquium presents VLB research projects – for the 1st time ever online VLB’s 1st online annual kick-off event, which was held from 26 to 28 January, was hosted at the VLB Virtual Campus. The 2nd VLB Research Colloquium was on the agenda, alongside brewing technology and beverage logistics. In follow-up to the German-language conferences that were canceled in 2020, the speakers got the possibility to present their research.
Dr. Alfons Ahrens, VLB Research Institute for Biotechnology and Water, talked on legionella in cooling water
(ew) VLB’s Managing Director and Research Coordinator Gerhard Andreas Schreiber welcomed all those attending the annual conference to the inaugural online colloquium. Since 2012, he has devoted his full attention to expanding VLB’s research capabilities. “The VLB has a total staff of 135, of which 88 work on the research side. Our research is carried out in close partnership with the Technical University of Berlin, with funding provided on a per project basis by industrial partners as well as German and international funding bodies,” reported Schreiber. VLB primarily concentrates on applied research, with a much smaller focus on basic research. The idea for new projects often comes from internal staff, be that as an offshoot of employees’ consulting activities or from discussions with customers. “Along with that, companies often come to us with questions they need help answering,” Schreiber went on to report in his presentation. In step one, the idea is evaluated to determine if it is original and marketable. Time plans are then drawn up, partnerships are initiated, and funding applications are sent to project sponsors. “Once the research project is completed, the transfer of knowledge begins. VLB is in an excellent position to facilitate this thanks to our extensive network,” Schreiber explains. One of the prime methods used to transfer knowledge is through training and education. “We convey information at our courses and at conferences.” Knowledge is also transferred as a service to custom-
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Brauerei Forum International – May 2021
VLB Managing Director and Research Coor dinator Gerhard Andreas Schreiber explaining the central role of research at VLB
ers, like, for example, packaging and sensory testing. Information on current projects was provided at presentations held during the VLB Research Colloquium. Dr. Alfons Ahrens, VLB Research Institute for Biotechnology and Water (FIBW), touched on the topic of water in his presentation on the research project Legionella in the Cooling Water of Evaporative
Cooling Systems. Eight breweries provided VLB with real samples. The aim of the project was to develop a methodology to identify, based on the individual operating parameters of an (open) evaporative cooling system, including the quality of the cooling water used, the specific factors required in each case for the sampling and testing procedure as well as the specific method used to ensure the sys-
