Meeting of Our Faculty Members Regarding the European Union Horizon Project "INNOECOFOOD"

Our faculty members have achieved significant success within the scope of the European Union Horizon (Ufuk) Project. The project known as "INNOECOFOOD" and focused on “the development of agro-ecological food products using eco-innovative technologies in Africa, and the sustainable production and marketing of these food products,” has a total budget of 7 million Euros.

The project was prepared in line with the European Union's "Farm2Fork" strategy. It brought together 20 different international stakeholders, including universities, institutes, and private companies from 10 countries, including Turkey, Portugal, Germany, England, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Uganda, and Tanzania. While Portugal assumed the general coordination, Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Seyit Yüzüak from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics acted as the executor and work package leader on behalf of our university.

This project is the university's first European Horizon project and stands out as the university's largest budget project on the international stage with a grant of 250,000 Euros. With the support of Vice Rectors Prof. Dr. Oğuz Gürsoy and Prof. Dr. Hakan Öner, and as a result of the efforts of Dr. Öğr. Üyesi Seyit Yüzüak, our university was accredited by the European Horizon Commission, and MAKÜ took its place as an important actor in the European Horizon Commission Project Program.

The project started with the kick-off meeting held in Portugal on February 6-7, 2024, and held its second meeting at the Lavanta Tepesi Hotel located on our university campus between July 1-4, 2024. The meeting, which started with the opening speech of our Faculty Dean Prof. Dr. Sevilay Özer, saw work package leaders share their presentations and reports, and evaluate the project's data and studies. Project partners visited our faculty and received a briefing from Assoc. Dr. Füsun Akgül, who is a researcher in the Spirulina production work package, at the algal biomass production laboratory.