Hands-on research, exciting discussions and a visit by the Federal Minister of Education and Research: On 20 and 21 June 2026, the research association DiP Saxony-Anhalt – Digitalisation of Plant Value Chains presented itself at the Open Day of the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) in Berlin with a wide range of hands-on activities for a wide audience.
Under the motto “Challenge accepted! Research has the answer!” , the BMFTR opened its doors to around 7,500 visitors. Families, citizens interested in science,and representativesfrom politics and the media took the opportunity to learn about current research and talk to researchers.
Hands-on bioeconomy
At the DiP joint stand, six projects showed how plants and plant side streams can be used to create new value chains for a sustainable bioeconomy. The projects DiP-DIAMANT, DiP-HyperSpace, DiP-NA-WIR, DiP-Tres2Cera, DiP-PhosFect and DiP-BioCasNavi were represented.
Whether deciphering the gene code, recognizing the scents of ethereal-oil-containing medicinal and spice plants, assigning starting materials and end products of the DiP projects in a memory game or discovering fungal mycelia and enzymes as building blocks of a sustainable bioeconomy – the interactive stations made research tangible and invited visitors to try it out. Numerous discussions showed the visitors’ great interest in sustainable agriculture, digitization and new uses of plant raw materials and residues. Behind the hands-on activities was a central question: How can plants and previously little or not at all used side streams become the starting point for new products for industry, chemistry or the healthcare industry? And what technologies are needed to develop sustainable material cycles and regional value chains?
How can a coal region become a model region of the bioeconomy?
The trade fair appearance was supplemented by a short lecture on the research network. Under the title “How can a former coal region become a model region of the bioeconomy? “, it was presented how research, business and agriculture in southern Saxony-Anhalt are working together to actively shape structural change in the Central German mining area. The focus was on new value chains based on plants and plant side streams, climate-adapted cultivation systems and digital technologies that contribute to the more efficient use of resources and the development of innovative bio-based products for industry, the healthcare sector and everyday life.
Federal Minister Dorothee Bär visits the DiP booth
A special highlight was the visit of Federal Minister Dorothee Bär, who informed herself about the research network at the DiP booth and talked to the researchers. She then gained insights into research on enzymes as natural catalysts at the exhibit of the DiP-PhosFect project. These can make chemical processes more sustainable and resource-efficient and open up new perspectives for bio-based chemistry.
Science in Dialogue
The open day offered the DiP network an excellent opportunity to make research outside the scientific environment visible and to enter into an exchange with a wide variety of target groups. The many discussions with visitors made it clear that topics such as bioeconomy, digitization and sustainable value creation are met with great interest – especially when they are conveyed in an understandable way and can be experienced through hands-on activities.
For the DiP network, the event was much more than a presentation platform: it offered the opportunity to communicate research in an understandable way, to talk to a wide variety of people and to make the potential of the bioeconomy tangible for the future.
