An ode to multidisciplinarity: the ‘Bacteria Orchestrate Life’ international meeting

Abstract

If scientists stick to their research expertise without collaborating with other experts in different fields, it could stall the progress of their work in a world where interdisciplinary thinking and working should be second nature. Biologists are at the forefront of this trend. That is why a consortium formed by the faculty of sciences of Tunis El Manar University, Tunisia, the GetGenome Foundation and Learn and Win, decided to organise an international conference on bacteria, a perfect field for multidisciplinarity. For 3 days, from 14 to 16 December 2023, more than 200 interdisciplinary researchers and students of life sciences and more than 20 international speakers and trainers met at the faculty of sciences in Tunis, to discuss microbiology and bacteria from different horizons, from the most fundamental to the most imaginative, with a strong focus on technologies and discoveries. This Meeting Review describes the scientific event and highlights the main results of both the conferences and the practical sessions.