Netherlands-based Insect Engineers is set to officially open its Insect School at the end of June. The new school aims to spark innovation in insect protein sector through knowledge sharing and collaboration.
Insect Engineers is officially opening its Insect School at the end of June. By being both a website and a practical testing site, Insect School aims to serve as the main knowledge hub and meeting place for the insect industry. In this way, Insect School wants to play a major role in helping the insect protein market grow, with the goal of accelerating the transition towards a circular global food production.
The Insect School website serves as an online news source and knowledge base for anyone interested in learning more about the insect protein industry, and the Black Soldier Fly in particular. In this way, Insect School wants to show the world what the Black Soldier Fly has to offer in the movement toward a circular economy and leaving a sustainable planet for our future generations. Visitors to the website can easily find answers to their questions in the knowledge base. In this way, anyone can gather information on how to get started with commercial BSF farming.
OPERATIONAL EXPERIENCE IN EACH STEP OF THE PROCESS
At the physical Insect School location, in the town of America in the Netherlands, testing facilities are available for every step of the Black Soldier Fly farming process. This starts with the adult flies laying eggs, to the processing of larvae into protein for animal feed. In several climate-controlled rooms equipped with high-tech systems, Insect School customers and partners can get hands-on experience with the industrial process of farming BSF larvae commercially. In this way, Insect School helps start-ups in the sector to make the step to an industrial-scale commercial Black Soldier Fly farm. Through different types of pilots, Insect School helps entrepreneurs analyze the technological feasibility of their plans.
“Hands-on experience in commercial BSF farming is essential to get started. We believe in the value of shared intelligence for both customers and brands, driving business growth through collaboration and innovation,” says Bob Holtermans, CEO and founder of Insect Engineers. “By sharing knowledge and working together, instead of keeping everything to ourselves, we can expand our knowledge and really move forward as an industry”.
RESEARCH AND TESTING PARTNER FOR BUSINESS AND EDUCATION
By collaborating with educational institutions, such as Wageningen University & Research and HAS University of Applied Sciences, and various business partners, Insect School makes its facilities available for research. Insect School plays an active role in promoting research and knowledge in the world of insect proteins. In addition, by collaborating with waste management companies, the highly efficient waste disposal by Black Soldier Fly larvae can be assessed and put into practice.
“We believe that if you want to make serious changes in the world, you can’t do it alone,” adds Bob Holtermans. “By sharing both practical and theoretical knowledge and serving as a meeting place, we want to bring together the insect protein sector, which will help achieve the necessary revolution towards sustainable animal feed production.”
An official Insect School opening week will be organized from June 28th to July 3rd, during which Insect School will be open to visitors. During this week, different types of activities will be organized, including demonstrations. This includes an interactive expert session on Thursday, June 30th, in which different experts in the insect sector will hold presentations.