Plant Breeding Academy - The European Plant Breeding Academy

The European Plant Breeding Academy

Starting: March of 2010

Invitations - English , French , German , Spanish , Turkish

Overview

Building on the success of the UC Davis Plant Breeding Academy in the United States, UC Davis is partnering with European institutions and associations to offer the European Plant Breeding Academy. The Academy is designed to reverse the current problem of the reduced number of plant breeders being trained in academic programs around the world. This premier training program targets working professionals who desire to become independent plant breeders. The course totals 36 days in length, the longest course of its kind in Europe. Participants will meet for six, 6-day sessions over two years. This schedule will allow participants to maintain their current employment while enrolled in the course. All instruction will be in English.

Close interaction between course instructors and participants is encouraged. The instructors, selected from around Europe and the United States, are nationally and internationally recognized experts in plant breeding and seed technology. The cost for this 2-year course, 19,500 Euros, includes all course materials and fees, along with lunches and breaks during the six sessions. A special one day tour of seed research and production facilities will also be incorporated into each session. The tours are designed to balance the classroom instruction with seed and agricultural industry experiences in each of the five host countries.

Instructors: Idy van Leeuwen, Kent Bradford, Allen Van Deynze, David Stelly, Roger Chetelat , Gurdev Khush
Additional European instructors to be announced.

Week 1: March 8-13, 2010
Location: Davis, California
Partners: Seed Biotechnology Center, UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences

Week 2: June 21-26, 2010
Location: Angers, France
Partners: Vegepolys, Fédération Nationale des Professionnels des Semences Potageres et Florales (FNPSP)

Week 3: October 18-23, 2010
Location: Enkhuizen, The Netherlands
Partners: Seed Valley, Naktuinbouw

Week 4: February 21-26, 2011
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Partners: Asociacion Nacional de Obtentores Vegetales (ANOVE), CRAG [a consortium between Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentaries (IRTA) & Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) ],

Week 5: June 20-25, 2011
Location: Gatersleben, Germany
Partners: The German Plant Breeders' Association (BDP), Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK)

Week 6: September 26-October 1, 2011
Location: Davis, California
Partners: Seed Biotechnology Center, UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences

Special thanks to the European Seed Association for their support in the development of the European Plant Breeding Academy

For more information contact: Joy Patterson jpatterson@ucdavis.edu 530-752-4414