Students from Peru visit TU Braunschweig

As part of the DAAD-funded project “Study trips for groups of foreign students in Germany 2024”, 15 students from the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina (UNALM) visited TU Braunschweig in mid-July to find out more about study and research opportunities.

Professor Boas Pucker from the Institute of Plant Biology at TU Braunschweig, along with Anne-Kathrin Kaiser from the Mobility Office at the International House, organised a varied programme for the students.

To kick off the the week off, the guests were welcomed to the International House, where they received information about study opportunities and summer schools at TU Braunschweig. Additionally, the International Student Support team presented its services. In return, the guests delighted the staff of the International House with a spontaneous performance of the traditional Peruvian dance “Marinera”.

Exciting insights into biology at TU Braunschweig

The visit was centred around exploring study and research opportunities in the field of biology at TU Braunschweig. For instance, the Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics research group showcased its research projects. Furthermore, student teams that had successfully participated in iGEM, the largest synthetic biology competition, and the SynBio2024 team provided the guests with insights into their projects. The students from Peru also presented their research projects and received a great deal of positive feedback from members of the Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics group. Subsequently, the group, led by UNALM student Daniela Ruiz, who had initiated the visit, toured the Botanical Garden at TU Braunschweig. The large Victoria water lily, in particular, made a lasting impression.

The tour continued at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology, where the students learned about the role that plant biology plays in the discovery of medicines. Afterwards, Professor Ludger Beerhues guided the students through the medicinal plant garden, using practical examples to elucidate the subject and reveal many fascinating facts about the special characteristics  of certain plants.

The group also visited the Biocenter and the Braunschweig Integrated Centre of Systems Biology (BRICS) and was very impressed by the infrastructure that Julian Pagel and Dr Tobias Ludwig showed them during the tour. In addition, the guest students gained many new impressions at the Julius Kühn Institute (JKI), where Dr Stephan Winter (DSMZ) presented the plant breeding facilities, in-vitro cultures and the cassava farm and talked about the discovery of virus resistance in plants. There was further exciting input from other JKI employees: Dr Maria Pimenta Lange presented her research on plant resistance through light treatment, Dr Niklas Stukenberg spoke about insect infestation and Ali Pasha gave an input on the monitoring of viroids in plants.

Taking home many new impressions

There was also enough time for an informal exchange about differences and similarities in student life in both countries over breakfast with TU students. Furthermore, a boat trip on the river Oker offered the opportunity to get to know the city of Braunschweig from the water and rounded off the programme.

At the end of the week, Professor Boas Pucker presented the students with opportunities to undertake research projects at TU Braunschweig. With many new impressions to take home, the UNALM students departed from TU Braunschweig and travelled to the University of Hohenheim for another visit before returning to Peru.