PROYECTA: Emprendimiento en Bioeconomía (Máster en Biología Vegetal Aplicada)

PROYECTA se plantea como Proyecto de Innovación y Mejora de la Calidad Docente, dentro del programa de apoyo a grupos innovadores, para consolidar y mejorar acciones en el ámbito del Máster Universitario en Biología Vegetal Aplicada y para crear contenidos y desarrollar iniciativas que favorecen y potencian el emprendimiento y la inserción laboral de los estudiantes. PROYECTA se consolida y continua su curso desarrollando sus objetivos en el ámbito de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Bioeconomy based on Scientific Research and Entrepreneurship

The bioeconomy can be defined as an activity that provides solutions to problems arising from the imbalance between increasing world population and the availability of resources and difficulties in supplying those needs. Bioeconomy is based on best and new uses of natural resources among which are important and essential plant species in areas such as agriculture, food industry, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industry, textile industry, landscaping and architecture, design of interior and exterior gardens, bioenergy, and the conservation and restoration of soils and natural ecosystems. Once checked problems, how to propose solutions in the context of the Bioeconomy? The universities base their activity in teaching and learning and scientific research. Furthermore, human societies and the habitats they occupy are social structures in which problems occur. If scientific research provides results that may constitute solutions to problems, it is necessary to build bridges between the academic activity and problems of society, bridges to convert research results in an entrepreneurial activity that allows its application as a solution to a given problem. That bridge is entrepreneurship to develop spin-offs and start-up. Something else to consider? The entrepreneurship is a process, it is learned, tested and developed, but solves nothing if not based on an entrepreneur, so the bridge is the entrepreneur instead of entrepreneurship. Consequently we must devote the effort to form new mindsets and attitudes to modern societies. If we have the necessary tools, learn to use them to be resolute and ask governments environments and mechanisms necessary to carry out the task

Gastronomic botany and molecular gastronomy

Complutense University of Madrid through the "Vicerrectorado de Calidad" develops projects to innovate and improve teaching quality. Among these projects is "Gastronomic Botany and Molecular Gastronomy" which aims to develop new materials and tools for the Virtual Campus and consequently offer new possibilities for teaching and training. Also this project organize and structure a new teaching matter for post-graduate education that will be an example of approach, relationship and cooperation between university and industry in the context of post-graduate learning and life-long learning. The project focuses on the idea that for most people, plants, algae and fungi are a group of organisms for which there are very different perceptions associated with different interests that make up what may be called areas of specialization in Plant Biology. The "plant world" extends their knowledge to different fields, including horticulture, food science, food, medicine, nutrition, natural products, drug industry or economic and social areas. There are three aspects around which is organized a body of knowledge related to gastronomy and "plant world": 1) Gastronomic Botany: use of plants, algae and fungi in food, 2) Nutrition and Health: Bioactive principles of functional foods, nutrigenomics 3) Economic Botany: social, economic and health aspects related to the plant products market. Gastronomy is a cultural object changing over time depending mainly on several factors: 1) raw material for food, 2) knowledge about the properties of some of these substances, 3) methods and techniques for the use of these materials. On the other hand, in recent years has been expanding and using the term "molecular gastronomy" to refer changes in processing food. Also all these aspects are related to two important questions: food safety and advances in functional foods and nutrigenomics