Challenges in Plant Sciences – PSC Colloquium
Note
This course addresses MSc and PhD students at ETH Zurich, University of Zurich and University of Basel. The seminar is organized by the Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center. Lecturers are PSC members.
Date and Venue for 2022
- Thursday, 3 November 2022, 14:15–17:30h, Room tbd, ETH Zurich. Kick-off talks held by PSC lecturers; and
- Thursday, 1 December 2022, full day. Room tbd, ETH Zurich. Group presentations held by students) Schedule will be announced later.
Lecturers (members of the Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center)
Luiz Domeignoz Horta, UZH; Beat Keller, UZH; Stefano Mintchev, ETHZ; Barbara Pfister, ETHZ; Klaus Schläppi, UniBas; Meredith Schuman UZH; Thomas Wicker, UZH; Tobias Züst, UZH; Thomas Boller, UniBas; Sylvia Martínez, UniBas
Program, Thursday, 3 November 2022 (kick-off talks)
| 14h15 | Introduction to the colloquium | Sylvia Martínez, Uni Basel & PSC |
| 14h30 | Molecular diversity of disease resistance mechanisms in wheat | Beat Keller, UZH |
| 14h45 | Chloroplast gene expression: Diversification of an ancestral prokaryotic scheme | Barbara Pfister, ETHZ (Sam Zeeman lab) |
|
15h00 |
What we learn from the high-quality sequences of the large and repetitive genomes of wheat and its relatives | |
|
15h15 |
Break | |
| 15h30 | Towards scalable spatial analyses of functional genetics in real plant communities | |
|
15h45 |
Robots for monitoring biodiversity and plant volatiles | Stefano Mintchev, ETHZ |
| 16h00 | To the root of plant microbiome interactions | Klaus Schläppi, Uni Basel |
| 16h15 | Break | |
| 16h30 | Plant-herbivore coevolution as a driver of diversity | Tobias Züst, UZH |
| 16h45 | Can plant biodiversity boost sustainable agriculture? | Luiz Domeignoz Horta, UZH (Anna-Liisa Laine group) |
| 17h00 | Student groups meet with their respective tutor to define content and work schedule for student talks. | All participants |
| 17h30 | Approximate end of first course day |
Content
The colloquium “Challenges in Plant Sciences” is a core class of the Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center's PhD program and the MSc module. The colloquium introduces participants to the broad spectrum of plant sciences within the network. The topics encompass integrated knowledge on current plant research, ranging from the molecular level to the ecosystem level, and from basic to applied science while making use of the synergies between the different research groups within the PSC. The course offers the opportunity to approach interdisciplinary topics as challenges in the field of plant sciences.
During the first course day, each involved PSC lecturer gives a short talk as a general introduction to her/his research field. Subsequently, each student group prepares a presentation chosen from a variety of topics and based on literature provided by the lecturer. Students gain knowledge on topics beyond their own research area while practicing discussion and presentation skills.
Main objectives
- Introduce PhD and Master students to the broad field of plant sciences
- Promote active participation and independent student work
- Enhance presentation and discussion skills
- Increase interactions among students and PSC members
- Promote an interdisciplinary and integrative teaching program
Course structure and timetable
- Students register with PSC and choose a topic (through doodle, tba).
- During the kick-off meeting PSC lecturers hold short talks on their research field and groups. Afterwards student groups meet with their lecturer to define their talks scheduled for December and to plan the student teamwork.
- Between first and second colloquium day: Each student group prepares its colloquium presentation independently. Literature will be provided.
- In December student groups present their talks, (check the exact schedule on this website). Each student receives grading and feedback from two experts.
Grading and Credit Points
2 Credit Points for PhD and Master students. Based on 8 days of work (= 60 learning hours) consisting of 1.5 days block course and 6.5 days of independent preparation time for the talk.