Meeting report: The 1st BRG-training school in Asia, a first step in the building of an ASEAN encapsulation network

The 6th training school on bioencapsulation of the Bioencapsulation Research Group (BRG http://bioencapsulation.net/2014_Nha_Trang/index1.html) took place in Nha Trang, Vietnam, in March 2014. This event, organised by Agro-Sup Dijon, Nha Trang University and the BRG with the support of the Agency of French-Speaking Universities (Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie, AUF) and Buchi was the first BRG-event organised in Asia. The success of this school, which brought together bioencapsulation researchers from eight countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) along with those from Europe, Japan, Australia and many other countries, shows that bioencapsulation is a growing field in Southeast Asia. After a brief presentation of bibliometric data showing the dynamism and the specificities of encapsulation research in Southeast Asia, a presentation of the achievements and needs in some countries is given showing the interest in building a network in this region.