To begin the visit, BRT Senior Researcher Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yelizaveta Chernysh and BRT Lab Coordinator Dr. Viktoriia Chubur led an informative tour of the BRT laboratory and CZU campus for Prof. Manabu Fukui, Institute Director Prof. Naoki Watanabe (Hokkaido University), and engineer Naoki Sogawa (Honda R&D Co., Ltd.).
Following the tour, BRT Director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hynek Roubík opened the meeting by highlighting the importance of strengthening Ukrainian-Czech-Japanese cooperation, setting a positive tone for the discussions. Next, Prof. Leonid Plyatsuk, Head of the Department of Ecology and Environmental Protection Technologies at Sumy State University, emphasized the need for increased collaboration in soil bioremediation, particularly in the context of post-war restoration in Ukraine. Sumy State University Senior Lecturer Dr. Yevhen Bataltsev then initiated a discussion on the potential for joint online educational programs. The meeting was highly productive, concluding with a decision to extend the cooperation agreement to include Hokkaido University!
The meeting also addressed the prospect of bioprocessing phosphogypsum into useful products that can be used to restore the fertility of contaminated soils. This is one of the core objectives of the “Phosphogypsum as a mineral resource for bioprocesses” (PG-BIOPRO) project. This project receives funding through the MSCA4Ukraine project, which is funded by the European Union.
We are very excited about the new opportunities for cooperation and future advancements! Stay tuned for more updates!
