“Not everybody in Parliament or Whitehall understands the scale of the broader bioeconomy"
Conservative George Freeman, longstanding Member of the British Parliament evaluates Post-Brexit policies for agriculture, food industries, and UK international trade relations in no uncertain terms. Unlike populists such as ReformUK capitalising on discontent he is a real patriot, has proven to tackle problems and get things done.Read more ...
There's trouble brewing ...
Modern biotechnology is shaking up the brewing industry. German beer production is decreasing and Reinheitsgebot appears rather a pious wish than a sanctionable obligation. B2Bioworld asked Thomas Becker, Chair of Brewing and Beverage Technology at TUM Weihenstephan as regulators and brewers inside and outside of Europe, for example in the United States already adapt to changing ingredients and brewing techniques. How do developments in Asia impact beer brewing in Europe.Read more ...
Getting serious - AI Act: Compliance including those outside the EU
Two years after the EU AI Act came into force (EU 2024) and subsequent sharpenings of obligations (e.g. EU 2026) the Commission is publishing guidelines fine-tuned to transparency issuesTwo years after the EU AI Act came into force the Commission is publishing guidelines fine-tuned to transparency issues which also concern extraterritorial actors. From August 2, the Commission and national market surveillance authorities are empowered to pursue violators.Read more ...
Communicating across different worlds
Bridging Cultures: Communicative Experiences along Chinese, English, and German
“Pardon?” A Chinese would rather politely say 不好意思 or «I am sorry, I did not listen exactly”. Instead of an impolite 啥？(What) one would reply in a neutral way 能再说一遍吗 or «Could you repeat that».You might be surprised how differently Chinese speakers handle difficulties of understanding each other. All the more so in case of thanking, apologising, declining something, criticising, shaking hands or exchanging business cards. Haiwen Dong, a linguistics graduate describes his experiences in Chinese, English, or German interaction, and offers some practical suggestions for being polite and courteous in spoken, nonverbal, and written communication.Read more ...
On Understanding and Being Understood in Multilingual Work Settings
So, in the workplace everybody communicates in English, right? You might be surprised what can go wrong even mastering three languages. Marco Arana recounts from his own personal experience shifting from academia to the blue collar world having to communicate in Spanish, German and, of course English.Read more ...