From October 27 to November 03, 2023, the colloquium “Insights into biodiversity management in Germany and comparison with Costa Rica” was held at Osnabrück University (UOS) as part of the DAAD-funded project Transformative research and capacity building to protect livelihoods and biodiversity in Costa Rica (CRLiveDiverse). Lilliana Rodríguez Barquero, Andrés Araya Araya, María Fernanda Arias Araya and Dr. Maynor Alberto Vargas-Vargas of the Universidad Técnica Nacional (UTN) joined their German colleagues Prof. Dr. Claudia Pahl-Wostl, Prof. Dr. Susanne Schlünder, Dr. Johannes Halbe and Dr. Philipp Gorris in Osnabrück to learn more about conservation efforts in Germany and discuss further steps in the CRLiveDiverse project.
Highlights of the colloquium were the excursions to AWIGO, a local waste recycling and management company, the Seedhouse, a multicorporate accelerator that supports start-up companies in the sectors of agriculture, food and digital, and the Agro-Technicum of the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, a research facility and laboratory where agricultural machinery is developed, on days four and seven of the colloquium, as well as the Interdisciplinary Science Day on day six.
The Interdisciplinary Science Day started off with presentations by students from both the UTN and the UOS, who write their final theses on topics related to the CRLiveDiverse project. Afterward, the researchers from Costa Rica presented their current research projects to the audience. In the afternoon, guest speakers Prof. Dr. Martin Franz (Institute of Geography), Lena Schmeiduch (Institute of Psychology), Felix Przesdzink (Department of Biology Didactics) and Jana Rülke (Institute of Geography) of the UOS, as well as Prof. Dr. Dieter Trautz (Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Landscape Architecture) of the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences gave insights into current research works and topics. This multitude of perspectives led to fruitful discussions. The day proved to be a success from both a scientific and networking perspective, and the project team can well imagine repeating such a format.
The colloquium concluded on Friday with a reception by Prof. Dr. Andrea Lenschow, Vicepresident of Internationalization, Diversity and Equality at the UOS and the Head of the International Office, Malte Benjamins and a visit to Hof Pente, a local farm practicing community-supported agriculture.
Andrés Araya Araya speaking at the
Interdisciplinary Science Day.
Visit to the Agro-Technicum.