Internship Biochemical Engineering

R&D internship: Biochemical Engineering

Are you a student interested in working in a professional research environment? Are you passionate about sustainable innovation and do you want to have an impact on the protein transition in the agricultural sector? Apply now and join us at our laboratory and pilot research facility within the Agrifirm R&D centre!

 

The challenge

Our R&D team Biobased Technology is developing a new fermentation process to create protein rich fungal biomass from low-cost by-products. In the future, this ingredient could be used as a circular alternative to soy in animal feed. Within this project, we are looking for a student intern to support the development of the fermentation process. We have projects available related to the fermentation simulation with the goal of gaining a better understanding of the process, as well as optimization to enhance overall efficiency and sustainability of the process. You will perform lab and/or pilot-based experiments, analyse data and support your findings with literature. Together with the team, you will translate your findings into an optimized production process of the novel feed ingredient.

 

Your responsibilities

• Design and perform your own lab-based fermentation experiments;
• Operate our lab scale bioreactors;
• Translate experimental results for fine-tuning the fermentation model;
• Analyze currently available literature and data;

 

What’s on your CV?

•  You follow a relevant study at MSc-level, for example in the field of biochemistry, biotechnology, life science technology, or microbiology;

•  During your studies, you gained knowledge on (one of) the following items:

• Chemical and nutritional composition of feed and food ingredients
• Fermentation simulation
• Bioreactor/bioprocess design
• Microbial physiology

•  You have established lab experience in chemical and microbial experiments, preferably in 2 to 10-liter controlled bioreactor experiments.

•  You are fluent in English, understanding Dutch is beneficial;

 

This is who you are!

• You have a passion for biotechnology, preferably fungal fermentation;
• You possess knowledge of engineering principles and their application to the design, optimization, and scale-up of biochemical processes.
• You are a strong analytical thinker with an assertive mindset;
• You are pro-active, independent, and effectively organise your own work;
• You are available for a minimum of 6 months from February 2024 onwards, although later starting dates are negotiable;

 

Our offer

During your internship with us, you will experience what it is like to work in a young, energetic and ambitious R&D team within a global agricultural organization that passionately works on a more sustainable food chain. As an intern you will become acquainted with the working method of Royal Agrifirm Group, you will be intensively supervised, and you will have the opportunity to gain broad experience. In addition to pre-set guidelines and project tasks, you will be given the freedom to come up with your own hypotheses and experiments, to further develop your capacities as a researcher. 

 

We offer an internship allowance of € 400.00 gross per month based on 40 hours per week. You will join an enthusiastic and committed team where cooperation and results are central. The location is ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

 

Royal Agrifirm

Agrifirm's vision is to work every day on a responsible food chain for future generations. We want to ensure that we can continue to offer affordable, healthy and sustainable food to everyone. Agrifirm therefore supplies high-quality products such as animal feed, products for the cultivation of crops and professional advice.

 

Information

For more information, please contact (Amber Windt, Researcher Biotechnology, a.windt@agrifirm.com).

 

You can apply via our website or other portals: please use the application button. Please address your response (CV and motivation) to Amber Windt.