Biotech Week

A week to understand biotechnology

Biotech Week is the annual event that opens the world of biotechnology to the general public across Europe. In Naples, the event takes place at Città della Scienza, the science centre of the Idis Foundation overlooking the sea in Bagnoli, on Via Coroglio. For one week, workshops, demonstrations, and meetings with researchers explain in simple terms what genes are, how DNA is extracted from a cell, and why biotechnology is considered a strategic sector for Europe today.

A European initiative with a Neapolitan stop

The event originated as the European Biotech Week, promoted at a continental level by EuropaBio, the European association for bioindustries, and coordinated in Italy by Assobiotec, the Federchimica association for the development of biotechnology. Every year, between late September and early October, research institutes, universities, companies, and science museums organize around a hundred events across the country: conferences, workshops, in-person and virtual guided tours, webinars, and activities dedicated to schools. In Campania, the main hub of the event is Città della Scienza in the municipality of Naples, which involves classes of all levels from the metropolitan area in every edition.

What happens during the week

The Neapolitan program is designed for two different but complementary audiences: school groups on weekdays and families on the weekend. Recurring activities from recent editions include:

• Interactive DNA workshops, with extraction of genetic material and construction of three-dimensional double-helix models;
• Hands-on and creative activities designed for younger children, combining manual skills with scientific learning;
• Meetings with biotech experts, to understand the transition from the laboratory to industrial application;
• Training courses for teachers, with experiments on microbiology and biotechnology that can be replicated in the classroom;
• In-depth looks at fields of application: therapy, diagnostics, agri-food, industrial processes, environmental remediation, and renewable energy.

The role of the University of Naples Federico II

An important contribution comes from the Department of Biology of the University of Naples Federico II: in recent editions, Professor Rosanna del Gaudio and a group of students from the Biology and Biological Sciences courses have animated the BioForFun laboratory inside Corporea, guiding visitors through DNA extraction and the synthesis of recombinant proteins. This is one of the most successful aspects of the event: outreach is entrusted not only to professional science communicators but also to those who actually conduct the research.

Where: Corporea and the Bagnoli science centre

Activities are concentrated in the area of the Infopoint at Corporea, the first European interactive museum dedicated to the human body: over 5,000 square meters on three levels, fourteen themed islands, and a hundred exhibits to touch and try. Surrounding this are the science centre, the Planetarium, and the exhibition spaces of the complex, housed in the recovered buildings of the former industrial area of Bagnoli, in the western part of Naples. The setting, between the gulf, the islet of Nisida, and the ruins of the Italsider steelworks, is part of the experience.

Who is it for?

Biotech Week requires no prior scientific knowledge: it is designed for students from elementary to high school, for teachers looking for teaching inspiration, and for families looking for a different kind of weekend. It is also an opportunity for young people choosing a university path to get a close-up look at a sector that is growing rapidly in Italy and Europe.

A weekend in western Naples

A visit is easily combined with the rest of the Phlegraean Fields: the Bagnoli waterfront, the Virgiliano Park in Posillipo with its view of Nisida, the Solfatara, and the port of Pozzuoli can all be reached in a few minutes. An excellent reason to extend your scientific day into a trip to the less touristy but most surprising part of the Neapolitan capital.