Davis, California, USA
April 6, 2014
EVENTS
Seed Central
Dr. Eric Mussen, UC Davis Cooperative Extension Apiculturist, will be the featured speaker at the Seed Central / Food Central networking event on April 10, 2014 presenting: Honey bees and seed crop production. The evening Networking and Forum beings at 4:30 pm and will be held at the Conference Center at UC Davis.
UC Davis Plant Breeding Symposium
This event will be held on April 11, 2014 at the UC Davis Student Community Center Multipurpose Room. The focus is on Global Food Security. Speakers include Jorge Dubcovsky, Howard Shapiro and many others. The event, sponsored by DuPont and the Department of Plant Sciences, is open to anyone as long as you are registered. It can be attended in person or by webinar. It begins at 9.30 am and includes lunch and an evening mixer for anyone who would like to network. For details and registration, please visit http://plantbreeding2014.ucdavis.edu.
EDUCATION
Seed Business 101sm
This one-week course is designed to expose participants to the five functional areas of a seed company (R&D, production, operations, sales and marketing and administration). By creating a virtual seed company and case studies for each functional area, the course content is delivered in a very interactive way. The program gives new employees a broad understanding of the major aspects of a seed company’s operations and cross-departmental knowledge of best practices for profitability. The course is taught by widely respected industry executives with additional help of industry experts participating as guest speakers. Since the beginning of this program in 2010, over 250 participants have completed this course. The next sessions are:
Field Crops: June 2 – 6, 2014, Coralville, Iowa and December 5-9, 2014, Chicago, Illinois.
Horticulture Crops: December 8 – 12, 2014, UC Davis, California.
Registration can be found here – Early-bird registration for the Iowa session ends on April 15, 2014.
For more information contact Sally Mohr at sjmohr@ucdavis.edu.
Apply now to Class V of the UC Davis Plant Breeding AcademySM
The Academy is a premium professional certificate course offered in the United States, Europe and Asia. To date, 133 breeders from 30 countries have attended the Plant Breeding Academy (PBA), making it the most significant training of its kind. The African Plant Breeding Academy, the most recent addition to the Seed Biotechnology Center’s programs, began in December 2013.
A recent survey of UC Davis PBA graduates shows that the course has a significant impact on both the employer and the graduated employee. Graduates from the first classes in the United States and Europe were surveyed with three statements measuring the impact of the PBA on the contribution the graduates make to their organizations and the recognition they have received for their contributions.
89% of respondents agree or strongly agree that they have become more productive employees in their respective organizations. 84% of graduates agree or strongly agree that the complexity of their tasks and duties have increased as a result of the PBA training. 57% of the respondents agree that the PBA contributed to positive career changes in terms of promotion and salary. Almost 70% of UC Davis PBA students come from organizations that have repeatedly sent students to the program, which is the ultimate measure of employer satisfaction.
Applications are now being accepted for Class V of the US PBA that begins in September of 2014. For more information on Academy visit pba.ucdavis.edu or contact Joy Patterson at jpatterson@ucdavis.edu.
Program Management for Plant Breeders
The course objective is to enhance the management skills of professional scientists who are leading and directing plant breeding and laboratory programs in modern agricultural research and development programs of agribusiness companies and the public sector. Some of the topics include:
- Understanding where your plant breeding or research program fits in the overall strategy of the organization. Establishing a vision and goal for your program and defining your key strategies and capacities.
- Comprehending the financial aspects of your program. Managing budgets, expenses, capital projects and period reporting. Reading and understanding a financial statement and managing your resources within the goals of your organization.
- Leading and managing people towards a common goal. Learning the principles of effective hiring, retention, evaluation, promotion, training, mentorship and motivation. Handling difficult situations using conflict resolution. Dealing with and embracing change and creating a culture of innovation.
- Creating effective and efficient programs. Understanding the principles of work flow, scheduling, safety, and legal compliance. Learning issues surrounding intellectual property and contracts, treaties and agreements.
Lead instructors include industry experts, Fred Bliss, Tom Francois and Rale Gjuric. This course will be at UC Davis on September 16 – 18, 2014. Registration is available here. For more information contact Sally Mohr at sjmohr@ucdavis.edu.
Bioinformatics Summer Workshops
Now in its 7th year, the UC Davis Bioinformatics Training Program will be holding two week-long workshops this summer:
Topics
Species
