News not identified elsewhere: speaking at conferences, presenting poster prizes, etc
Huge thanks to Angela Bywater for her timely and thorough update from the 2025 ADBA National Conference – she is a major motivatiing force in this area, both within and well beyond EBNet. Another excellent Summary of Key Insights from the event is now available from the ADBA team on …
Angela Bywater from the Global Centre for Sustainable Bioproducts (GCSB), who is also our former EBNet Network Co-Manager and a pillar of the AD WG, reports on some highlights of ADBA‘s recent National Conference: “With a packed house and a long waiting list, the 2025 ADBA National Conference had a buzz …
UKRI has now announced the successful bids for two flagship doctoral training initiatives designed to strengthen the UK’s talent pipeline. On behalf of our colleagues at the Environmental Biotechnology Innovation Centre (EBIC), one of EBNet’s successor organisations, we are delighted to share its new programme in Engineering Biology for Environmental …
Leverhulme Trust Research Project Grants are for researchers based at universities, institutions of higher education or registered charities with university-equivalent research capacity, to undertake an innovative and original research project. Grants may be held for up to five years. The maximum grant value is ÂŁ500k. The grant provides research staff …
‘The circular bioeconomy is directly linked to environmental systems and is essential for the sustainable use of biological resources’, states the seventh Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7), a major UN report launched on 9 December 2025. The report highlights that circular economy and biobased solutions hold key opportunities to align economic …
An episode of the BBC’s Panorama programme aired on 1 Dec 2025 with the title The Truth about Forever Chemicals.  While EBNet’s PFAS WG and the EBIC Hub obviously take this issue very seriously indeed, we are not sure some of the apparent messages here were very helpful. The programme …
The next phase of the UK–Ukraine Horizon Europe collaboration initiative is now open. Following a nationwide call, Ukrainian universities have submitted project ideas designed to foster academic cooperation, strengthen research partnerships, and stimulate innovation exchange with UK higher education institutions. These ideas are a milestone in joint efforts to build …
Submission deadline: 15 Jan 2026 The journal Environments has announced a special issue on Wastewater-Based Epidemiology Assessment and Surveillance (see here for details). Topics include: Pathogen surveillance (e.g., SARS-CoV-2, emerging viruses, and antimicrobial resistance genes); Community exposure assessment for illicit drugs, pharmaceuticals, and environmental toxins; Technological innovations in sample collection, high-throughput sequencing, …
Continuing a theme from a recent post on Microbial ecology and drinking water biofiltration, two papers below are well worth a look. They are on linked topics and are published in conference proceedings, with full papers on the way: so a thought-provoking taster for what is to come. Prof Cindy …
Dates: 11 and 17 Dec 2025, online On 11 Dec 2025 an online European Commission Info Day will present the topics in the Widening Participation and Strengthening the European Research Area (WIDERA) Work Programme 2026-2027. Call types will include both Coordination & Support and Research & Innovation actions. On 17 …
Deadline: 26 Aug 2026 Biofilm technologies are evolving from classical wastewater treatment tools into platform processes for resource recovery, waste valorisation, and circular bioeconomy applications. Once viewed as passive systems, biofilms are now being designed to recover nutrients, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS)-derived biopolymers, and other valuable resources from complex effluents. …
Deadline for entries: 20 Feb 2026 The next round of the annual Dance Your PhD competition is open for entries.  This is a fabulous chance for current (and former?) PhD researchers to think about your work in a completely different way – and if you take part, to disseminate your …
There have been numerous recent surveys, reports and editorials on the challenges facing new (bio)technologies for a more sustainable economy: some focusing on training and education to address the shortage of skilled and qualified people, others on facilities and funding for scale-up and implementation. But the prize for one of …
Abstract deadline: 30 Nov 2025 The International Conference on Sewer Processes and Networks (SPN) is organised every 3 years by the IWA Sewer Systems and Processes Working Group under the Joint IAHR/IWA specialist group on Urban Drainage. The next SPN conference takes place from 20-22 May 2025 in Trondheim, Norway …
A recent study in Water Research examining microbiomes in water filtration is central to the theme of our Water Biofilms WG, and to EBNet’s ongoing interest in complex microbial ecosystems that prevent or remediate pollution and protect public health. Prof Cindy Smith, a key figure in the University of Glasgow …
