The BABE Project Has Been Launched – Biotechnology Education Cooperation in the Baranya Region - Joint Curriculum Development of the PTE Faculty of Pharmacy and the Faculty of Food Technology in Osijek
On 14 April 2026, the kick-off conference of the Baranya Alliance for Biotechnology Education (BABE) project was held in Osijek. The project is being implemented under the Interreg VI-A Hungary–Croatia 2021–2027 Programme.
The lead beneficiary of the project is the Faculty of Food Technology Osijek (PTFOS), Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, while the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Pécs participates as project partner. The project officially started on 1 March 2026 and will be implemented over a period of two years.
The total budget of the project is EUR 151,046.19, of which EUR 120,836.95 is co-financed by the European Union.
“The project aims to develop two short educational programmes: one in the field of food biotechnology, which is being developed by the Faculty of Food Technology in Osijek, as its primary mission is education in food technology, although in recent years the faculty has increasingly expanded its activities towards food and environmental biotechnology. The second programme, focusing on pharmaceutical biotechnology, is being developed by colleagues from the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Pécs. Both short programmes will be based on a micro-credential methodology. In addition, we will create a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), an online course focusing on general biotechnology, which will be available through our faculty’s website,” said Prof. Dr. Natalija Velić.
The programmes developed by experts from the two faculties are intended for students currently enrolled in higher education, as well as for recent graduates working in sectors outside their primary field of study. For students of the Faculty of Food Technology in Osijek, this mainly concerns employment in the pharmaceutical industry, while graduates of the Faculty of Pharmacy in Pécs often find opportunities in the food industry.
“We recognized that both groups have knowledge gaps. One group specializes primarily in food technology, while the other focuses on pharmaceutical technology, yet many graduates work in the opposite sector—our graduates in the pharmaceutical industry and Hungarian graduates in the food industry. Together with our industrial partners, we therefore decided to develop two short educational programmes. Industry representatives will provide feedback on the additional knowledge and competencies that would be beneficial for our students. Once developed, we will share the programmes with one another: we will offer the food biotechnology programme to our Hungarian colleagues, while they will provide us with the pharmaceutical biotechnology programme,” explained Prof. Natalija Velić and Prof. Ivan Alilović.
Source: glas-slavonije.hr/osijek
Official project website: ptfos.unios.hr/InterregBABE
