About BioCat
BioCat Norway, the National Graduate School, provides expertise and tools for research and education for Norway-based PhDs and Postdocs working in biocatalysis, protein science, and similar fields. The BioCat program is funded by The Norwegian Research Council from 2016 to 2024.
What we do
By creating national graduate schools, the Research Council aims to unite small scientific communities spread throughout the country and increase collaboration between research groups. This creates platforms for technical and academic exchange and training, and thereby improves the quality and the skills of the PhD students.
Biocatalysis is a crucial field in the societal change to a bio-based economy.
It is a field essential to many areas including biomedicine, biotechnology, microbiology, and (bio)nanoscience. It is also becoming increasingly important to industrial processes and in various diagnostic and gene technologies.
BioCat focuses on the career development of early stage researchers.
It is open to all PhD-students in Norway that use biocatalysis, protein science, and similar fields in their research. As of Sept 2023 we have 178 members, 123 of which are PhD students, 33 are postdoctoral researchers, and 12 are master students.
The Biocat consortium is made up of six universities, four research institutes and the Industrial Biotechnology Network Norway.
This collaboration represents a unification of over 80 research groups, providing students great access to expertise, facilities and training in the life sciences.
How we are organized
- The Biocat board consists of 12 appointed representatives from both academia and industry.
- Each partner university has an appointed student ambassador, who acts as a local contact for the PhD-students.
- The UiT The Arctic University of Norway is the administrative seat for BioCat, where the project leader and the administrative coordinator are located.
