Braunwald Course

The course "Biosystems Engineering" is uniquely combining modelling and simulation of bioreactors and biological systems. With continuous updates reflecting the newest trends and developments in biotechnology research, it has successfully conveyed expert knowledge to participants from academia and industry since 1981. Enabled by the interdisciplinary expertise of the lecturers, it integrates the quantitative description and engineering of metabolic systems with their reactor environment and thereby provides the full picture for successful strain and bioprocess development at the frontier of current research.

A specialty of the course is the hands-on use of simulation software and relevant exercises. Using examples from our book "Biological Reaction Engineering" and the easy-to-use simulation program Berkeley Madonna, the participants gain solid understanding of physical systems in biotechnology and their models and they can directly interact by changing process parameters and interpreting the graphical output. This greatly enhances the learning of mathematical modelling. Further exercises on metabolic networks use different software packages integrated in MATLAB, e.g. CellNetAnalyzer, which will also be available during the course.

The intentionally kept small group size provides a great learning atmosphere and close personal interactions with the lecturers. This gives rich opportunities to react to particular interests of the participants for special topics, workshops, and individual simulation problems. The teaching material outlines state-of-the-art methods as they are applied today in academic and industrial research and development.

Reached by cable railway, the auto-free village of Braunwald is situated at 1300 m, above the Linthal Valley and at the base of high mountains (2700 m). Participants and instructors live together in one of the best Swiss mountain hotels: an ideal, quiet location, well equipped and comfortable and widely renowned for its excellent meals. The course is scheduled for morning and evening hours. The afternoons are usually free for a range of other activities, including mountain walking and climbing. Assisted with lifts to the top, we are able to encounter the alpine majestic world or we can enjoy diverse recreation activities. The special atmosphere of the course greatly enhances the learning experience.