b'International Strategy FACILITATING INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT AND COLLABORATION IN BIOFILMSThe overall goals and strategic intent of NBICs international collaborations are to leverage our current position within the global scientific biofilm community and prioritise outreach to key developed and emerging regions. Our international strategy strives for:Working with biofilm academic centres that areRepresenting the UK biofilm community at prominent and endeavour to advance the field.international biofilm networks, such as the European We build on our existing relationships with India,COST Action on Microbiologically Influenced Singapore and the US, to explore academic,Corrosion (Euro-MIC) aimed at a creating a synergistic industrial and regulatory synergies.collaboration and communication between materials scientists, engineers, microbiologists, chemists and Establishing international industrial contacts whereintegrity managers from academia and industry these can stimulate the growth of the UK science andto create more sustainable, safe and reliable MIC industrial base in translational biofilm research. Asmanagement practices.an example, in October 2022 we co-organised, with the Argentinean Society for General MicrobiologyCommitment to accelerate investible projects in (SAMIGE), a workshop titled Biofilms in Agriculturebetter agricultural, food and health. NBICs CEO aimed at bringing together key researchers andProfessor Jo Slater-Jefferies attended the 2023 Banff industry representatives from both countries toInnovation Summit in Canada, invited as part of a catalyse collaborations in the area of plant-microbialdelegation of international leaders. Jo is currently interactions and sustainable crop production. championing the project, International Platforms for Bioresource Technologies.Acquiring new contacts in other regions supported by international grants for the developing world.Our aim, as a consortium of 63 UK research Supported by the funding from BBSRC we will beorganisations, is to become a strong partner to a holding an international workshop, in October 2023,larger, more powerful and influential international to establish a new synergistic partnership betweennetwork of industry and academic partners.NBIC and the West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP) in Ghana in the areas of biofilms biobanking and antimicrobial discovery. 27'