European Plant Breeding College Erasmus Project

Project Title

European Plant Breeding College

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Labour market issues incl. career guidance / youth unemployment; Agriculture, forestry and fisheries

Project Summary

The European seed sector is facing major challenges in the years to come, especially growing world population and an increasing role of European food production the impact of climate change and environmental stresses on agricultural production and the need for a more sustainable agricultural system. The European seed sector will therefore have to develop new high-yielding plant varieties and new seed innovations.

However, to tackle these challenges, the European seed sector will require well trained breeding project leaders with in-depth knowledge of both, traditional plant breeding techniques and biotechnological techniques, who can communicate between those two worlds, who have project management experience and who have had international experience to be able to grasp the bigger picture. Those profiles are currently very rare on the job market and are more and more asked for. There is a strong need for this profile of human resources for the development of the European seed sector.

The University of Gent, Ege University, Polytechnic University of Valencia, Swedish University of Agricultural Science and Polytechnic Institute UniLaSalle have decided to join forces to develop the European Plant Breeding College (EPBC) to:
– Share knowledge and experience for the benefit of their students
– Improve the academic quality of their Plant Breeding Master Programmes
– Improve the employability of their alumni
– Create a European dialogue with the seed sector on human resource policy
– Increase the excellence, international visibility and integration among European Plant Breeding education programmes
– Increase the number of joint projects among EPBC participants

To achieve these objectives, the EPBC has:
– Shared knowledge and experience with their students via innovative teaching methods such as online courses, webinars and pilot cases
– Facilitated mobility of their students and immersion in new cultural contexts and teams through Intensive Study Programmes and mobilities in the speciality of the partner universities
– Boosted the transition of EPBC students from university to the labour market through a pan-European Internship Network
– Interacted through Multiplier Events with prospective students, and professionals from the seed sector

As a result, EPBC has contributed on its scale to ensuring European food supply, the development of the seed sector in Europe and to a more competitive and sustainable European agriculture through student training, integration of programs Masters in Plant Breeding and the creation of a Erasmus Mundus Master’s Program of Excellence (emPLANT).

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 235996,27 Eur

Project Coordinator

INSTITUT POLYTECHNIQUE UNILASALLE & Country: FR

Project Partners

• EGE UNIVERSITY
• UNIVERSITEIT GENT
• SVERIGES LANTBRUKSUNIVERSITET
• UNIVERSITAT POLITECNICA DE VALENCIA