Kick-off meeting in France: the Yscript consortium meets in person for the first time

For the first time since the official project start in April, the Yscript team came together for an in-person kick-off meeting on 5th and 6th of May. At the invitation of project coordinator Prof. Chantal Pichon, all eight project partners met with their research and management experts at the Centre International Hotel Dupanloup – a historic building of the University of Orléans, France. The partners who could not attend in person were connected virtually via livestream.

On the first meeting day, after a warm welcome by Chantal Pichon, the participants used their opportunity to get to know each other personally and to introduce their respective institutions and their contribution to the Yscript project in presentations – and at the consortium dinner.

Day two was all about setting the frame for a successful project implementation and the technical details. After an inspiring expert talk of Kasia Pachulska-Wieczorek (IBCH), the partners discussed the planned approach to building the yeast factory for mRNA bioproduction. Then, it was time for the Work Package Leaders to present and discuss the first steps to be taken in their respective Work Packages.

The Consortium was very happy to welcome EIC Project Officer Joao Filipe Alberto Lopes, who virtually joined the meeting, informed the partners about important management and communication topics as well as EIC EIASME services and answered first pressing questions.

The upcoming project meetings will take place virtually. The next face-to-face meeting of the partners is planned for 2023 in Portugal at the Universities of Aveiro and Beira Interior.