EPBA VIII Completes Week 5
🌱 European University of California, Davis Plant Breeding Academy Class VIII: Session 5 in the books!
What an incredible, immersive, and scientific week at the world-renowned IPK Leibniz-Institut in Gatersleben!
Our Class VIII dove headfirst into interactive, hands-on field, lab, and facility visits. We engaged directly with leading researchers pushing the boundaries of modern crop science.
A massive thank you to the brilliant minds at IPK who opened their doors to us:
* Dr. Jens Freitag (Head of IPK Management Office) for an exceptional welcome.
* Prof. Dr. Nils Stein (Head of Genebank Department) and Dr. Ulrike Lohwasser Gene Bank Manager, for taking us inside their state-of-the-art gene bank facilities and showing us the immense operational complexities of storing and maintaining over 150,000 accessions across 3,000 species!
* Prof. Dr. Thorsten Schnurbusch for a masterclass on plant architecture.
* Dr Marcus Kirschnick, for guiding us through the cutting-edge Phenosphere high-throughput phenotyping system.
* Dr @Ljudmila Borisjuk and Dr @Hardy Rolletschek for a mind-blowing look at non-invasive phenotyping using MRI technology.
* Dr. Christian Hertig for an insightful deep dive into the future of gene editing.
We were also thrilled to welcome fantastic industry innovators and special guests:
* Dr Zeljko Micic, PhD showcasing the innovative SMARTtray® high-throughput sampling technique.
* Jean-Pascal Lutze Lutz introducing us to AI-powered plant breeding.
* Harold Verstegen (KWS Leader and proud PBA Class II Alumnus!) for showing our cohort firsthand how crucial it is to actively develop strong leadership skills along the breeding journey.
Off Campus field visit: KWS Group in Einbeck!
The class also had a fantastic site visit hosted by the Sugar Beet Breeding team at KWS. Our students had the unique privilege to exchange ideas with one of the most sophisticated, world-class sugar beet breeding organizations on the planet.
Special Thanks to our Core Instructors:Dr. Alexandra Tomerius, who helped organizions along with Whitney Lowe and IPK Mariana , and our dedicated Academy Director, Jovan Djordjevic.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Davis, California – Our final, graduation session arrives this October!
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:
We will be announcing the Outstanding Student from this cohort very soon! The prestigious Outstanding Student Award will be presented live at the Euroseeds Congress in collaboration with our partners at Euroseeds and Seed World Europe on October 26–28, 2026, in beautiful Valencia, Spain! Stay tuned for the announcement.
EPBA IX APPLICATION OPEN!
Are you interested in joining our European Plant Breeding Academy? The application is now open for EPBA Class IX. This new class starts in March 2027, but space in limited so apply early to reserve your spot!