Bioeconomy (free online course)

With a predicted global population of nine billion people in 2050, a well-documented climate crisis, and a global food waste problem, the world needs to change. On this course, you’ll look at the ways you can make the most of renewable, biological resources, including what you might think of as ‘waste’, and how the world can move away from a fossil-based economy to a bioeconomy.

You’ll start this course by gaining an understanding of what a bioeconomy is and which sectors it includes. With the climate crisis being of constant concern, you’ll assess why the move away from non-renewable resources is so important and identify the skills required to transition to a bio-based economy. This will also include the skills needed to pursue a career in the bioeconomy and the many career paths available.

On this course, you’ll delve into natural resources, such as plants and microbes, and how they can be used to produce high-value chemicals for the personal care, food, drink, and pharma sectors. You’ll also look at how food and agricultural waste can be used to make new products. This will cover the agricultural technologies that are helping sustainability, as well as methods like anaerobic digestion, which turns waste materials into renewable resources.