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Biotechnological Advances for Future Crop Production
Second title: Specialized course (International Summer School)
Provider: Faculty of Science

Activity no.: 5742-24-09-31 
Enrollment deadline: 15/06/2024
PlaceDepartment of Plant and Environmental Sciences
Date and timeAugust 2024
Regular seats25
Course fee2,000.00 kr.
LecturersRosa Laura Lopez Marques
Fernando Geu-Flores
ECTS credits5.00
Contact personRosa Laura Lopez Marques    E-mail address: rlo@plen.ku.dk
Enrolment Handling/Course OrganiserRosa Laura Lopez Marques    E-mail address: rlo@plen.ku.dk
Written languageEnglish
Teaching languageEnglish
Semester/BlockSummer Block 5
Criteria for exam assessmentAttendance to all sessions, including 1-day participation in the CPSC conference. Active participation in thematic discussions and peer feedback sessions. Poster presentation at the CPSC conference.
Course workload
Course workload categoryHours
Lectures25.00
Preparation75.00
Class Instruction7.00
Practical exercises30.00
Sum137.00
Aim and content

Plant production is facing unprecedented challenges. In 2050, the human population will exceed nine billion and the demand for agricultural production will increase by 60%. Climate change will limit local plant production, demanding the development of stress-resilient crops. In addition, we must reduce the environmental impact of agriculture and improve the nutritional qualities of our crops.

The present PhD course will provide an update on the state-of-the-art methods to uncover the genetic basis of agronomic traits and introduce them into new or existing crops using biotechnology. Special focus will be on semi-domesticated crops as well as gene-editing systems in plants. The course will include participation in a 1-day international symposium as well as coaching sessions on poster preparation and delivery.

The course will cover topics such as:
• Genetic resources for crop improvement
• Overview of mapping of agronomic traits
• Omics-based gene discovery
• Transformation of wild and semi-domesticated crops
• Update on the CRISPR-based toolbox for gene editing
• Intellectual property rights

Formal requirements

MSc in Plant Biology, Biochemistry, Agriculture, or related areas, as well as current enrollment in a relevant PhD program.

The students are expected to submit an abstract on their current project that will be used to select young speakers for the 1-day symposium held during the course

Learning outcome
After the course, students will be able to:

Knowledge:
• List key agronomic traits that need improvement in selected crops
• Describe different ways to obtain and exploit genetic variation
• Recount strategies to map the genetic basis of desirable traits
• Describe the latest techniques for targeted genome engineering in plants

Skills:
• Identify the main challenges faced when working with a semi-domesticated crop
• Weigh the advantages and disadvantages of different gene editing protocols
• Understand the basic rules of communicating science to a specific audience

Competences:
• Propose biotechnological crop improvement strategies for their own projects
• Design and present a poster for an international audience

Literature
A list of recommended literature will be sent to registered students before the start of the course.

Target group
• Students working within plant biology and related areas, especially those working on genome editing or plant transformation and regeneration.
• Students working on crop improvement, including those focused on yield, physiology, pathology, and nutrition.

Teaching and learning methods
The course consists of theoretical lectures by local and international teachers, which will be accompanied by practical examples from ongoing research projects. The students will also gain skills on science communication by designing and improving a poster on their projects via coaching and peer feedback. The students will attend the second day of the international CPSC conference (Thu 22 Aug), where they will present their posters.

Lecturers

Course organizers:
Rosa López-Marqués (rlo@plen.ku.dk) and Fernando Geu-Flores (feg@plen.ku.dk)

External teachers:
• Stig U. Andersen, Aarhus University (Denmark)
• Luisa Trindade, Wageningen University (The Netherlands)
• Holger Puchta, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany)
• Markus Stetter, University of Cologne (Germany)
• Louise Aagaard (Høiberg European Patent Attorneys)
• Toni Wendt (Traitomics A/S)

Local teachers:
Michael Broberg Palmgren, Hans Thordal-Christensen, Elizabeth Neilson, and Guangbin Luo (UCPH)

Remarks
Course fee and cancellation
The course fee DKK 2,000 covers lunch & coffee breaks, a social event, and poster printing.
Cancellations with full reimbursement are possible until the 15 June 2024 at the latest (a small transaction fee of DKK 12,95 will apply). No reimbursements will be possible after the 15 June 2024.

Travel grants
Several travel grants are available in connection with the CPSC conference. Details on how to apply will be sent to the students after enrolment (deadline for applications: Wed 01 May 2024).

Enrollment
To register please click “Enrol” at the upper right corner of the course description.

For PhD students at UCPH: Please provide us with "stedkode" and "alias" when enrolling.

For PhD students at other universities than UCPH: After enrolling, please pay the course fee via the following link: https://eventsignup.ku.dk/novocrops2024. Payment via creditcard or MobilePay only.

All enrolled students will be asked to register separately for day 2 of the CPSC conference (Thu 22 Aug). A separate link will be sent by email, including instructions on how to apply for a travel grant if desired.

***
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