New Trends in Plant Breeding
This course aims at sparking interest in a wide array of topics, which can be useful for a career in plant breeding industry or in science. Subjects treated are at a higher integration level, not only taking into account plant breeding aspects, but regarding all aspects involved, such as environmental issues, products and chain issues,
Advanced Cellular Imaging Techniques
Advanced light microscopy and reporter gene techniques are indispensable for mechanistic studies on the functioning and organization of cells. New microscopy technologies and digital imaging allow us to study dynamic processes at shorter time scales and with higher spatial resolution in living cells. In this practical course the principles and cell biological application of different
Transforming Food Systems
General description of the content This course will focus on the dynamics in food systems globally from a governance and transition studies perspective. We will identify the different actors involved, their roles and interests, and their relationships and interactions. Next, we will focus on processes of transformations towards more sustainable and healthy food systems (at
Innoveren in en met de Maatschappij
Vanaf april 2025 biedt het Copernicus Instituut een spannende en innovatieve nieuwe cursus aan: Innoveren in en met de Maatschappij. Innovatieonderzoek richt zich vaak op de markt (bedrijven), of juist de publieke sector (universiteiten en beleid). Maar uit onderzoek blijkt dat het veelal burgers en andere gebruikers zijn die een leidende rol spelen bij het
Breeding for Stress Tolerance and Quality
In current agriculture, abiotic and biotic stress are the main reasons that yield potential and quality aspects are difficult to realize for many crops. Resistance breeding focuses on the use of genetic resources for improving plant defence against stress factors. Breeding for biotic stress resistance addresses with defence mechanisms and strategies that protect host plants
Population and Quantitative Genetics
Life on earth shows immense variation, both in phenotypes and the underlying genotypes. Population and quantitative geneticists address questions such as where this variation comes from, how it is maintained, and how it can be used. This course introduces seminal models and concepts that deal with the dynamics of genetic variation, and applies these to
Modelling Functional Diversity in Crop Production
The last century, agriculture has been characterised by control and specialization: monocrops being grown with intensive use of fertilizers and pesticides. But environmental concerns, disease and pest resistance to pesticides and finite availability of resources call for a change in strategy. Diversity both in terms of utilizing different crop species and in combining different ecology-based
Genetic Analysis Trends and Concepts
This advanced course explains the most important genetic concepts to unravel and understand complex biological phenomena. We in detail explain the genetic processes underlying variation and its inheritance and their relevance with respect to evolution. We center our course around three main themes: Mutation, recombination and (epi-)genetic transmission. All three themes are both cause and
Regulation of Plant Development
A unique feature of plants is the fact that environmental factors play a crucial role in their development. In this course, molecular, cell biological, and physiological aspects of plant developmental processes will be discussed. We will cover several conceptual frameworks for the development of plant cell types and organs. The focus will be on how