University of Edinburgh students tour MiAlgae demonstrator site
Recently, MiAlgae welcomed a bright group of students from the University of Edinburgh to learn about microalgae production at our Commercial Demonstrator site in Balfron. As scientists studying planetary health and food futures, the students were eager to learn about the nutritional potential and sustainability of our products. As part of Scotland’s growing biotechnology sector, we’re always happy to host those interested in hearing how biotech can provide green solutions to tackle net zero targets and the climate crisis.
The day kicked off with a presentation from Pablo, one of our R&D Scientists, who was a student himself not so long ago. He gave some background on how MiAlgae started and our vision, as well as a flavour of his day-to-day work. He showcased some of MiAlgae’s products in our production lab, walking the students through our fermentation process, and demonstrating the experimental work that goes into developing exciting new technologies.
Discussing the visit, Pablo, R&D Scientist, said: “The students did their homework and posed some very interesting questions. It’s really fulfilling to share the MiAlgae experience and see the next generation of scientists so engaged. Seeing their faces when they discovered just how “fishy” our algal product smells was priceless!”
The students showed a keen interest in our process, asking questions about the digestibility of our products, our scale-up journey, and our growth projections. It was certainly an interesting time to visit and they got to see and learn about the different aspects of taking a project from research right through to full-scale production.
The lab session was followed by a tour of the site, which is currently buzzing with activity as we look to scale our process to almost 250,000 litres.
Caroline Grant, MiAlgae’s new Head of Engineering, had a great time showing the students around the site and telling them all about our growth journey. She commented: “It was great to be able to share the MiAlgae journey with the students. I think it's important for students to get the opportunity to see a successful example of how innovators can bring their sustainable and environmental business ideas to fruition and the practical challenges involved.”
The students were encouraged to think outside of the box and to apply sustainable principles to their own knowledge and experience of different industries. MiAlgae exists through this type of creative thinking, by turning a previously undervalued co-product on its head to create something valuable and centring around improving the planet’s health.
We hope our visitors take MiAlgae’s ethos to heart and look to generate positive change in their future careers as scientists and entrepreneurs. After a day of engaging and insightful questions, their tour guides certainly felt encouraged, and believe the future of Scotland’s food industry is in safe hands.
If you want to learn more about what we do, please contact: info@mialgae.com .