Early bird registration deadline is on 1 May 2026. The final date for registration is 29 May 2026.

Applicants will be informed of acceptance of their registration if possible, within two weeks after their registration, but at latest a day after the final registration date. They will then receive instructions for payment, a notice of acceptance and further course details.

After acceptance of your registration, the VLAG Cancellation Conditions for course participants will apply.

>> Register for this course <<

The course fee includes coffee/tea during breaks, lunches, and one dinner, but does not cover accommodation. 

* WUR PhD candidates affiliated with VLAG, WIMEK, WASS, WIAS, PE&RC with an approved TSP.

The course is at postgraduate level and will be valuable for PhD candidates and other researchers who are working with enzymes in academia and industry, or are considering to do so, in the fields of biocatalysis, food and feed science, bioprocess engineering, and similar areas that involve the development and use of enzymes.

This course provides detailed information on the basic principles of enzymes, their engineering and industrial application. It consists of lectures by experts, a company visit and training in the use of computational enzyme engineering tools.

The masterclass consists of a number of lectures (morning sessions) given by experts from academia and industry and provides ample opportunity to exchange knowledge with the experts as well as the participants. Participants are encouraged to bring a poster for a pitch talk and poster session. On two afternoon sessions, computational tools in structural biology and enzyme engineering will be explained and demonstrated. This will include hands-on training in using computational tools. Additionally, we will visit the facilities of dsm-firmenich in Delft, as part of the programme. 

The following topics will be addressed:

• Basic principles of enzymes including structure, function, kinetics, stability and inhibition
• Enzyme engineering in theory and practice
• Computational tools for enzyme engineers
• Enzyme discovery
• Biomass and carbohydrate valorising enzymes
• New industrial applications of enzymes

The most recent version of the preliminary programme can be downloaded on the top right of this page.

• Prof Marco Fraaije, University of Groningen
• Dr Edita Jurak, University of Groningen
• Dr Mirjam Kabel, Wageningen University & Research

Other faculty:

• Prof. Sandy Schmidt, University of Groningen, Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy, Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Biology
• Dr Max Fürst and dr Hein Wijma, University of Groningen, Groningen Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology Institute (GBB), Molecular Enzymology
• Prof. Aalt-Jan van Dijk, University of Amsterdam, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences
• Dr Francesco Mutti, University of Amsterdam, Van ‘t Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences
• Prof. Leila Lo Leggio, University of Copenhagen, Department of Chemistry (DK)
• Prof. Ronald de Vries, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LU)
• Dr Ana Toplak, Fresenius Kabi Pharma & Nutrition
• Dr Eric Hüfner, AB Enzymes (DE)
• Dr Andreas Vogel, c-LEcta (DE)
• Dr Annemiek van Zadelhoff and dr August Bekkers, Heineken

More information about the contents of the course can be obtained from the course coordinator, Dr Mirjam Kabel.

For organisational matters, please contact Jochem Jonkman.

Information on accommodation options can be found here.