Student Testimonials from the European Plant Breeding Academy:
"My experience in the UC Davis European Plant Breeding Academy (PBA) has beentransformative. The program provided in-depth knowledge and practical skills in advanced plant breeding techniques, from molecular tools to field-based strategies. The diverse cohort and expert faculty created a stimulating environment that fostered collaboration and innovation. Future students should attend the PBA program because it offers unparalleled training in modern plant breeding, access to a global network of professionals, and hands-on experience that directly impacts real-world agricultural challenges. The knowledge and connections gained here are invaluable for anyone aspiring to lead and innovate in the field of plant breeding." - Cristian Iván Delgado Salas, Especialistas en Papayas SA DE CV, Mexico (EPBA VII)
"UC Davis EPBA gives a lot of theorical knowledge from the basics to an advanced level, pointing on the key-points which are highly related with practice." - János Jóvér, Alfaseed Ltd., Hungary (EPBA VII)
"Really learned to understand brreeders better, having different discussions with them and aswell to challenge the status quo in breeding and trailing. Furthermore a lot a lot of things which where new or just forgotten has been shared which are very valuable to implement in our organisation regarding breeding, trialing and data analysis. Why worth to do: Generally it depends on each persons pre-knowledge: to acquire knowledge or to refresh to bring all company actions in and around breeding forward (faster, better, more efficient and reliable) -and to exchange with colleagues is great!" - Stephan Winter, Syngenta, Germany (EPBA VII)
"A couple of years ago I started orientating on my next educational move. To raise my knowledge to an academic level, but also to increase my toolbox with additional tools to successfully overcome all challenges and drawbacks which a breeder can encounter along the way. So far, I was mainly trained by teachers that were trained in Europe. I chose to pick a course which has a different background, assuming this would offer me different point of views and different approaches of similar challenges. And I must say I don’t regret my decision to apply for the European Plant Breeding Academy.
One of the most inspiring aspects of EPBA are the teachers and students themselves. There is so much we can learn from each other. Plain technical knowledge, but even more from personal experiences. Many people in the seed industry have to face similar challenges and everyone has his own experiences and point of views on how to handle them, often shaped by their professional environment and the crops they are working with. The numerous guest speakers and company visits also contribute greatly to this aspect. I really appreciate all the knowledge and experiences they have shared with us along the way. In my opinion, this level of interaction can never be achieved in any other form of education than real live class.
The curriculum of EPBA connects very well with daily practice of breeding. It offers many topics from the fundamentals right up to the latest technologies and how to apply all this. But it’s not only about technical knowhow. There are also many decisions to be made in the field of logistics, strategy, economics, legislation. And probably the most important: people. We all work in teams, some small, some big, and the only way to be successful is to have a dedicated team of passionate professionals that know how to support and develop each other. I was happy to see that also the people factor is incorporated in many lectures.
EPBA really enlarged my scope. I have learned that even from crops that seem to have no connection at all at first, I can adopt approaches and practices that will be helpful in my own crop. Also, because we take this course alongside our daily work, things learned can be applied and discussed in our professional environment directly the following week. This really helps in understanding and applying all we have learned.
And, in the end, it is also just great fun to meet other people with different cultural backgrounds in inspiring places and to team up to go to class or dinner together." - Mark van Gervan, Bejo Zaden B.V., Netherlands (EPBA VII)
"The PBA provided me the opportunity to learn from public and private experience. The abilityto meet people from around the world provided an environment that fostered learning andfriendship. It has been a great experience that will continue past graduation." - EPBA VI Graduate, Anonymous
"I mostly value the great instructors and students that I met. I now have friends from all aroundthe world with whom we can share experiences and knowledge" - EPBA VI Graduate, Anonymous
"EPBA was a great opportunity to deepen my knowledge in fundamental points of plantbreeding. With practical breeding background understanding of steps behind will for suresupport my future breeding work. I enjoyed the fruitful open discussions and lectures. We alsomade wonderful friends on the course! - EPBA VI Graduate, Anonymous
"EPBA is the perfect place to learn and stay updated with the new technologies." - Valentin Mandache, Saaten Union Romania SRL, Romania (EPBA VII)
"EPBA is an excellent course for seed industry employees." - EPBA VII Graduate, Anonymous
"EPBA is unique opportunity to expand knowledge on plant breeding" - EPBA VI Graduate, Anonymous
If you have questions about EPBA, contact Whitney Lowe at wlowe@ucdavis.edu.