DIGIBIO · Centre for Digitalisation of Biology Towards the Next-Generation of Biosustainable Products

Biosustainablility is an important goal for humanity as it addresses many global challenges we face. We need convergence of different technologies and domains to tackle challenges of biosustainability and combination of digitalisation and biotechnology provides a powerful opportunity for this. While engineering of biology has delivered sustainable products, high-throughput generation of biological data has outpaced our capacity to learn from it. Digitalisation of biology, however, through exhaustive analysis of big data using integrated informatics approaches promises to deliver next-generation bioengineering solutions towards a green economy. These range from healthcare to biomaterials, new foods, and sustainable energy. To foster digitalisation of biology, we propose a Teaming partnership between the Novo Nordisk Foundation Centre for Biosustainability at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and the Estonian Centre for Biosustainability (ECB), that links leading universities of Estonia: University of Tartu and Tallinn University of Technology. The DigiBio project will significantly upgrade the ECB and will create a research and technology platform for data-driven disruptive bioengineering solutions to accelerate translation of science to manufacturing of next-generation bioproducts. The platform relies on complementary actions of partners for the generation and analysis of big data through integration of automated genome engineering, phenotype screening, high-throughput analytics, and informatics. It combines knowledge- and tech-transfer of a unique concept for digitalisation of biology and personnel training developed by DTU to ECB, a bioengineering hub of Estonia, and the success story of IT commercialisation and competence of Estonia. The project is aligned with the Focus and Smart Specialisation areas of Estonia and aims to enhance regional development by extending the biosustainable research and industrial practices of Denmark into the Baltic region.