Team news
Looking Back on 2025: BRT Newsletter
With 2025 now behind us, the BioResources & Technology (BRT) Division reflects on a year defined by collaboration, innovation, and global engagement. From new research outputs and international projects to academic milestones and community-building events, 2025 marked a period of steady progress across BRT’s research, education, and outreach activities.
Visiting Internship Insights – Katie Jacobs
To broaden and develop our teams’ collaborative skills while offering visiting students the chance to expand their scientific networks and gain cultural experiences, BRT encourages students to join our team for internship opportunities. These internships aim to facilitate idea exchange, foster professional growth, and create opportunities for collaboration.
Recently, we hosted Katie Jacobs, a student from the United States. Read her introductory blog HERE.
Enjoy reading about her experience with BRT!
deSalSea Project Continues Building International Cooperation in Sustainable Desalination Research
The Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU), represented by BRT Director Assoc Prof Dr. Hynek Roubík and Dr. Viktoriia Chubur from the BRT, is a partner in the deSalSea Project, an international research initiative focused on advancing sustainable seawater desalination technologies through forward osmosis (FO). The project brings together leading research institutions from Spain, France, and the Czech Republic to develop innovative, energy-efficient water treatment solutions.
Within the project, BRT contributes to the evaluation of the environmental, energy, economic, and social dimensions of the developed FO technology. This includes analysing energy consumption and efficiency throughout the desalination process, assessing the economic feasibility and competitiveness of the system compared to conventional desalination technologies, and evaluating the potential social impacts and acceptance of the technology. BRT is also responsible for conducting life cycle assessment (LCA) analyses using SimaPro Expert software to assess environmental impacts across the technology life cycle and identify opportunities to improve sustainability and resource efficiency.
Meet our new intern - Chin Hui Ween
To broaden and develop our teams’ collaborative skills while offering visiting students the chance to expand their scientific networks and gain cultural experiences, BRT encourages students to join our team for internship opportunities. These internships aim to facilitate idea exchange, foster professional growth, and create opportunities for collaboration. Meet the new intern joining our team from Malaysia, Chin Hui Ween (Vivian)!
Paper Published! Bridging behavior and policy: Determinants of household biogas adoption in West Java, Indonesia
Researchers from the Faculty of Tropical Agrisciences (FTZ) at the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU), including BRT Director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hynek Roubík, recently published an article in Fuels.
Biogas is increasingly recognized as a strategic component of Indonesia’s clean energy transition. However, despite significant potential, particularly in livestock-dense regions, household-level adoption remains limited. This study focuses on dairy farming households in West Java Province to examine the factors influencing biogas adoption.
Using data from 201 households, including both adopters and non-adopters, the research applies a binary logistic regression model to analyze the determinants of adoption. The study integrates socioeconomic variables such as income, livestock ownership, and electricity access with behavioral and institutional factors including fuel-cost pressure, perceived time savings, and participation in training.
BRT Project Spotlight: CZU mobiLAB 2.0
What if advanced molecular diagnostics could travel directly to where they are needed most?
The CZU mobiLAB 2.0 project is making this a reality. Developed as a modular molecular-biology laboratory, mobiLAB 2.0 enables high-precision scientific analysis using RT-qPCR directly in field and remote locations. This means that results no longer depend on distant laboratories, data can be generated, analysed, and interpreted on-site, in real time.
At its core, mobiLAB 2.0 is designed to accelerate decision-making in critical situations. Its speed and accuracy allow end-users to monitor research outcomes immediately, supporting faster responses in both scientific and applied contexts. One key example is the in-situ monitoring of African Swine Fever in high-risk areas. By enabling on-the-ground detection, the system supports rapid containment measures that can significantly reduce the spread and impact of outbreaks.
