A woman in a white lab coat looks at the tablet in her hand. She is standing in front of a shelf with numerous medications.

Ghanaian delegation visits PTB virtually to discuss local vaccine production in Ghana

The promotion of drug and vaccine manufacturing, strengthening the regulatory framework or the harmonization of standards and their implementation — the intervention areas of quality infrastructure in the pharmaceutical sector in Africa are manifold. The need for efforts in these areas is greater than ever, especially in the current situation: The COVID-19 pandemic has shown…

Gram weight piece under a glass bell jar.

A universal language for the world

The metric system was introduced in Germany 150 years ago Introducing a uniform measurement system that was acceptable throughout the world was far less a scientific achievement than a political one. Whereas the previous systems of units reflected the regional balances of power (as demonstrated by the various princely ells), the metric system won people…

Christmas tree in front of the PTB site in Braunschweig

2021: Another extraordinary year comes to an end

The increasing availability of Covid-19 vaccines was an encouraging breakthrough in 2021 that turned a lot of things around. However, the pandemic is not over, and many of the challenges we encountered in 2020 remained. With a few exceptions, most of PTB’s International Cooperation activities therefore still took place in a virtual setting, and working…

Farewell: A decade with Serbia

“It is a strange feeling to say goodbye to partners during a video conference after 10 years of cooperation,” says Stefan Wallerath, project coordinator for cooperation with the countries of South-East Europe. PTB’s involvement with the region, which was marked by the conflicts of the 1990s, began back in 2006. Serbia, as the largest economy…

A stand consisting of wooden crates with bowls full of fruit.

Training of French-speaking Calidena facilitators

The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) has developed the Calidena method to improve quality within value chains and within national quality infrastructures (NQI) to create a business-friendly environment. This method can be used within the scope of international projects. Its main objective is to ensure that the NQI takes its users and their needs into account and…

In an exhibition hall of the Intra-African Trade Fair 2021, information booths are lined up on both sides. Long banners hang from the ceiling.

Quality as an opportunity for trade: Intra-African Trade Fair 2021

“Transforming Africa” was the theme of this year’s Intra-African Trade Fair which took place in Durban, South Africa. For the second time already, over 1,100 exhibitors took advantage of this unique platform which ran from 15-21 November to network across the entire continent and to intensify collaborations in different sectors. Roughly 10,000 visitors attended the…

The graphic advertises ExpoCalidad2021 with the title ColombiaMide and the regions - Confidence in your measurements, quality in your products. It shows a map of the world highlighting Colombia in the colours of the Colombian national flag and with cocoa and Hass avocado fruits.

ColombiaMide launches its first trade fair on quality and measurement services

The fair named ExpoCalidad2021 is a meeting point for the promotion of quality assurance in exports from Colombia Bogotá, D.C. November 5th, 2021. The ColombiaMide Project, with the support of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, the National Institute of Metrology (INM) and the Colombian Institute of Technical Standards and Certification (ICONTEC), are pleased…

Confident young female doctor working on laptop and writing something in the book.

Strengthening the Pharmaceutical Sector in Nepal with QI

Training-of-trainers seminar on analytical method validation for pharmaceutical analysis What can be done to strengthen local pharmaceutical production in Nepal and enhance added value? Finding answers to this question is the aim of an ongoing project called Support to Nepal in the field of quality infrastructure. Since 2013, PTB has been working with the Association…

Reception for the Minister of Economy Ismael Touré from Guinea with Federal Minister Walter Scheel in 1964.

The BMZ is 60 years old

2021 is a special year for Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). This is because the Federal Republic of Germany has now been engaged in development policy for over six decades. On 14 November 1961, Walter Scheel was appointed as the first Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation. This day is considered to…