Upcoming events

We are very excited to announce the first edition of the Grounding carbon farming course which will take place from 14-20 September on site on a dairy farm in France. This is an all-included, immersive course where fundamental issues around carbon sequestration in agricultural lands are treated from different perspectives, including that of farmers. Highly relevant to anyone working from close or far with soil carbon and land-based climate change mitigation, from biological, environmental, social, or economic perspectives!

The seminar will take place on Thursday, 19th September, 16:00 - 17:00 in Orion C2035. This will be followed by a gathering at the Spot. The associated workshop will take place beforehand on Thursday, 19th September, 14:00 - 15:30 in Orion B4014. The workshop gives attendees the opportunity to meet the seminar’s speaker and discuss a hot topic in science. Furthermore, BSc and MSc students can get 1 ECTS for attending 2 workshops. Registration is required for this workshop, and you can sign up by emailing Liana Greenberg (liana.greenberg@wur.nl).

We start with an introduction to Bayesian statistics and show how to execute Poisson and negative binomial GLMs in R-INLA. We then discuss zero-inflated GLMs for count data and continuous data, and show how to execute such models in R-INLA. In the second part of the course, we discuss generalised additive models (GAM) and show how to execute these models in R-INLA. In the third part we extend the zero-inflated GAMs with spatial, and spatial-temporal dependency. During the course, several case studies are presented, integrating statistical theory with applied analyses in a clear and understandable manner. Throughout the course, we will use the R-INLA package in R. This is a non-technical course.

Dr. Sharon Zytynska, University of Liverpool, gives a seminar on "Advancing sustainable agriculture: manipulating soil microbiomes and landscape management for effective pest control".

The Netherlands Society for Evolutionary Biology (NLSEB) Junior Board hosts a series of events at various Dutch institutions, which aim to inform participants of the diversity of exciting evolution-based research in the Netherlands.

We are continuing the One Health seminar series with interesting talks and discussions focusing on topic of SOIL HEALTH on the 3rd of October. The aim of the One Health Talks and Drinks series is to bring One Health researchers from different disciplines together. The talks and drinks will be organised each first Thursday of the month (with some exceptions). Each meeting has a specific topical focus, and allow time to chat and connect while enjoying some drinks to conclude the meeting. The series is organized by WUR’s ERRAZE programme and the PE&RC graduate school and is open for all WUR staff and students.

EPS theme 3 combines two fields of plant biology that are intimately connected, Metabolism and Adaptation. Metabolism underlies the functioning of plants, ranging from the fundamental primary processes of photosynthesis and respiration to the synthesis of, sometimes species-specific, secondary metabolites that are responsible for an enormous diversity in traits in the plant kingdom. During the theme 3 symposia two invited keynote speakers and junior researchers of the EPS community present their research and give you insight into the metabolism and adaption of plants. Afterwards you are more than welcome to join for drinks to discuss research, set up collaborations and meet-up your peers.

We are thrilled to invite you to a special interactive event, “INSPIRING ECOLOGY”, featuring esteemed ecologists Daniel Laughlin (University of Wyoming, USA), Luke McCormack (Morton Arboretum, USA), and Joana Bergmann (Zalf, Germany) – see short bio’s below.

EPS theme 4 encompasses several disciplines ranging from genetics, to epigenetics, genomics, bioinformatics, biosystematics and plant breeding. Given the broad scope and the important role of genome data throughout all of plant biology, theme 4 is intimately connected with other themes. This year we invited Wilma van Esse (WUR) and Marja Timmermans (University of Tübingen) as Keynote speakers. Interested to join? Register and we will see each other in October.

On this day, we will explore the latest research and insights into the different aspects of the broad field of soil sciences covering topics from soil fauna, over to soil physics and soil management. Current challenges and solutions are presented and discussed.

Plants dynamically interact with a wide range of organisms, some of these are harmful while others are beneficial for the plant. These interactions are not only interesting objects for study, but they are also highly relevant as plant pathogens and pests destroy nearly 35% of the world’s annual crop harvest. During the theme 2 symposia two keynote speakers and junior researchers of the EPS community present their research on wild and cultivated accessions of economically important crops, such as potato, tomato, barley, tobacco and Brassicaceae, next to model species such as clover and Arabidopsis thaliana.

Transformation of society and sustainability governance requires significant reordering: one that changes existing drivers and structures to drive change towards fundamentally novel systems. During the conference we focus on the central question, can sustainability transformation be governed? And if so by whom, what and how?

With more than 500 delegates expected and +45 exhibiting companies, this in-person conference and exhibition is Europe's preeminent event for showcasing the latest innovative breakthroughs to help accelerate the commercialization and scaling of alt proteins. Stay up-to-date with the most recent solutions, technology, policy, and concepts across the food system. And get the best opportunities to meet key industry contributors.

Future generations face unprecedented challenges; climate change, resource depletion, socio-economic and health inequalities. To address these challenges researchers will need to push us outside their disciplinary comfort zones to think differently about problems and possibly solutions. In other words, researchers have to work together in inter- and transdisciplinary collaborations. This new way of working requires a different skill set than those taught in disciplinary courses. Therefore, in this training participants will learn and experience the different phases of these complex collaborations. The course is designed for participants to go through the different phases of these complex collaborations: disciplinary grounding, perspective taking, finding common ground and integration. We combine both theory and practise to train collaborative skills.

he course will include a general introduction to the MoBPS framework and breeding programs, as well as a series of exercises on how to use MoBPSweb (www.mobps.de) and the MoBPS R-package. In addition, there will be room for open discussion and specific questions regarding own breeding programs. After completion of the course, participants should be able to simulate common breeding programs in both plant and animal breeding.

The objective of this PhD-course is to introduce the Multi-Objective Decision Making (MODM) toolbox to PhD students and scientists whose research contribute in developing sustainable and nutrition-secure food systems. Participants learn the theory behind commonly used MODM methods while emphasis is put on applying the methods consistently in their own research.

Within the framework of the EU project RUMIGEN (https://www.rumigen.eu/), we offer a 5-day course on “Genetics of resilience and trade-offs” with hands-on training, at Wageningen Campus. The course will review state-of-the-art theory and application of the concepts of resilience, robustness and trade-offs, with a focus on their implementation in breeding programs. Experts in animal breeding and systemic modelling and guest speakers will teach the latest theory and examples related to the concepts of resilience, robustness and trade-offs. Implementation of related traits in breeding programs and important challenges faced in these processes, will be discussed based on real use cases.

We are thrilled to announce the upcoming reunion of soil ecologists across the Netherlands! Join us for a stimulating symposium on the 30th of October 2024. The symposium will be held at Radboud University in Nijmegen, where we will provide a diverse program, with presentations and workshops.

After successful symposia in Brisbane (Australia, 2022) and Gainesville (USA, 2023), we are organizing the third symposium to offer a worldwide podium for presentations and discussions around modelling and prediction of GxExM data and interactions. A symposium to share understanding and approaches to predict cropperformance, accounting for Genotype by Environment by Management(GxExM) Interactions

This conference offers leading trainers, researchers, practitioners, and students from around the world the opportunity to share their knowledge, insights, and expertise on the critical issues in inter- and transdisciplinarity needed to build capacity in and through research, education, policy making, activism, and artistic engagement.

In EPS theme 1 the research aims at elucidating the molecular and cellular bases of the pro­cesses that govern plant development. During development of plants, the genetic inform­ation contained in the zygote is passed to successive generations of cells by cell division. During this process the cells become arranged in tissues and organs with different specific functions. This year Anne Vatén University of Helsinki, and Rüdiger Simon, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf will be the keynote speakers., joined by PhD candidates and postdocs of the EPS community.

The concept of the flatfish symposia was initiated at the 1989 European Marine Biology Symposium in Oban, Scotland. A group of young scientists supported by Ray Beverton set up an international forum to discuss and exchange their ideas and results on fish ecology with respect to their research on flatfishes.

As a future scientist in the life sciences, it is important that PhD students have an insight into the debates around the relationship between human beings, animals, and nature, to understand their meaning and to learn to participate in these debates. This course will provide students with a systematic overview of the key topics of animal and environmental ethics. NOTE: For the online version of the course, priority will be given to participants that are not based on the Wageningen campus. If you are based in Wageningen, we strongly advise you to apply for the in-person version of the course.

A just and sustainable future can only be reached with a feeling of HOME for all. All living creatures need a safe place where they can grow and flourish. But what constitutes HOME? What is a sustainable HOME, in the broadest sense, and how do we achieve that?

The MicroSpectroscopy Research Facility and the Wageningen Light Microscopy Centre of Wageningen University will organize a VLAG & EPS funded advanced practical course for postdocs and PhD candidates. The course will cover the theory behind a number of advanced microscopic and micro-spectroscopic techniques that have a wide range of applications in both the Food and Plant Sciences.

Linux and Python, a dynamic, readable programming language, is a popular combination for all types of bioinformatics work, from simple one-off scripts to large, complex software projects. This workshop is aimed at complete beginners and assumes no prior programming experience. It gives an overview of the language with an emphasis on practical problem-solving, using examples and exercises drawn from various aspects of bioinformatics work. The workshop is structured so that the parts of the language most useful for bioinformatics are introduced as early as possible, and that students can start writing plausibly-useful programs after the first few sessions. After completing the workshop, students should be in a position to (1) apply the skills they have learned to tackling problems in their own research and (2) continue their Linux and Python education in a self-directed way.

How do I write an appealing news article? How do I get my research in the spotlights? How do I tell a broader audience than my own peer group about my work? And how do I deal with possible discussions that may arise from my research? These, and other important questions about animal science and society will be addressed during the training course ‘Societal Impact of your research’. The course is meant for PhD candidates and postdocs who want to get tips and tricks for communicating their research to non-colleagues including journalists, companies, farmers, policymakers, politicians, NGOs or students.

Together with colleagues from Plant Science Group (PSG), Agrotechnology and Food Science Group (AFSG), Environmental Science Group (ESG), and the Jan IngenHousz Institute (JII) we established a seminar and discussion group on photosynthesis: Sharing Knowledge in Photosynthesis Research (SKiPR). In this group we share knowledge on all things photosynthesis and stimulate collaborations and expand our research networks (and have some mild fun if possible, too). The group is aimed at researchers working on all forms of - or related to - photosynthesis research, from MSc student to professor, as well as those working in the applied research.