Recognition for our animal care: Fraunhofer IZI co-hosts the German TechWeek
The International Laboratory Animal Technician Week (TechWeek) was held in Germany from January 27th to 31st, 2025. This annual series of events recognizes the work of animal keepers in experimental research involving animals. This year, the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI took part for the first time.

The American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS), which established TechWeek in 1999, initiated TechWeek. Since 2002, these events have also been held in the United Kingdom, Japan, and New Zealand. Last year, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin hosted the first TechWeek in Germany. These events celebrate the important contribution animal keepers and technical staff make to experimental research involving animals.
This year, Fraunhofer IZI took part in this week of events together with Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, HHU Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Max Delbrück Center, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, and the university hospitals in Cologne, Mainz, and Regensburg, as well as the University of Veterinary Medicine, Hanover. TechWeek is part of the institute’s established culture of care, which emphasizes respect for all living beings and is highlighted by the mindset and professionalism of the animal keepers in their work with the laboratory animals. The animals’ health, and care for them, take the highest priority at all times. At present, animal research is still an essential precondition for progress in biological and medical research. The insights gained in this way form the basis for the development of new drugs and treatments.
In their daily work, the animal keepers are faced with an unresolvable dilemma: New insights benefiting man frequently involve applying stress to animals. During TechWeek, the staff were offered lectures on mouse keeping, stress assessments using score sheets or the low-stress handling of research animals. In addition, there were team-building activities in the afternoon which provided opportunities for an exchange of ideas, in addition to the lectures. In Leipzig, employees of other research institutions keeping research animals also took part, in addition to Fraunhofer IZI employees.
Through their comprehensive expertise and continuous training, such as during TechWeek, the animal keeping staff make a decisive contribution to ensuring that ethical standards in research are maintained, while concurrently improving the quality and reliability of research results. Because of their expertise, animal keepers and technical staff can recognize indications of stress or illness in the research animals early on, and act accordingly. This highlights the staff’s fundamental role in ensuring animal well-being and, hence, their active support for researchers in their work.