Generation Challenge Programme 2005 Annual Research Meeting ? 29 Sept-1 Oct
The GCP 2005 Annual Research Meeting will be held outside of Rome, Italy, in San Martino de Viterbo from 29 September through 1 October 2005 at the Belletti Park Hotel (www.balletti.com/index_main.asp). We would like all of the principal investigating scientists for all of the 2005 competitive and commissioned projects to attend, and we would like at least one institutional representative per GCP consortium member per Subprogramme to attend. (Click here for a list of consortium members. Please see the attached list for the PIs and other institutional representatives the Subprogramme Leaders have already identified for participation. If you are on the list, please confirm your attendance to Ibti Vincent (i.vincent@cgiar.org). The official invitations will be distributed later. If you are not on the list but would like to represent a GCP consortium member in one of the Subprogrammes identified, please communicate with your institute to agree upon a team that best represents your institute and/or GCP project in which you are involved, and then confirm to Ibti your interest in attending. If you are not from a consortium member institute but would like to attend the Annual Research Meeting, please communicate your interest to Ibti Vincent, with a description of your scientific background and what you are able to contribute to the GCP Annual Research Meeting and hope to get out of the meeting. Please note that we are able to accommodate 90 people MAXIMUM and must accommodate GCP consortium members first. Financial support is available for travel to the meeting, but we welcome anyone who can pay for themselves! The GCP will not pay for those who already allocated funds for this meeting in their project budgets, of course. More details about the meeting and the financial support to come. The GCP would like to thank IPGRI and Patti Sands in particular for graciously offering to help with the logistics of this meeti. Please email Ibti Vincent (i.vincent@cgiar.org) or Jenny Nelson (j.nelson@cgiar.org) with questions.
Genomics-Based Plant Germplasm Research Conference at CAAS in April 2005
The Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences recently hosted a three-day meeting on Genomics-Based Germplasm Research at its headquarters in late April. This excellent conference covered many of the themes integral to the GCP:
Plant Genomic Diversity and Core Collections; Germplasm as a Resource for Gene Discovery and Variety Enhancement; Bioinformatics and Germplasm; and Germplasm Exchange Policies. For more information about the meeting, please click here. The GCP will host the next meeting in this conference series in 2007.
Call for Commissioned Research Proposals ? 1 September
The call for 2006 commissioned research proposals will be released on 1 September 2005. The GCP Annual Research Meeting will provide the opportunity for potential collaborating institutes to meet and plan their commissioned projects. The deadline for proposals will be 1 November 2005.
Competitive Grants Call for Proposals ? November 2005
The GCP will release its second call for proposals for the competitive grants in November 2005. More details to come in the June e-newsletter!
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Capacity Building News and Views
This section of the e-newsletter contains exclusive information about capacity building opportunities within the GCP and outside.
Generation Fellowships ? FOUR WINNERS ANNOUNCED
We are pleased to announce the winners of the first round of Generation Fellowships: Daniel Fonceka (CERAAS-Senegal), Syed Sarfraz Hussain (University of the Punjab-Pakistan), Heru Kuswantoro (Indonesian Legume and Tuber Crops Research Institute), and Suresh Kumar Sampath (Bharathiar University-India). For more information about the winners, please click here. The GCP heartily congratulates them on this achievement!
Generation Fellowships ? CALL FOR APPLICATIONS RE-OPENED
Fellowship opportunity for scientists from developing countries to conduct research outside their home countries for 3 months to 1 yr. There are a total of four fellowships available in Subprogrammes 2, 3, and 4 (we have already filled the fellowships for Subprogramme 1). For more information, see the guidelines and application on the GCP website. Deadline 31 MAY.
The GCP is also pleased to announce 3 winners of travel grants (see below for more information on the GCP travel grants): Elie Rene Gasore (Rwanda National Agricultural Research Organization), Le Quang Hoa (Hanoi University of Technology-Vietnam), and Pervez H. Zaidi (Indian Agricultural Research Institute). Please click here for more information about the winners. Congratulations to the winners!
The call for application for 13 more travel grants for up to US $5,000 for non-GCP NARS scientists has been reopened. Awards must be used to travel to a GCP (or related) workshop, or to visit a GCP member institute. Application criteria can be found here. The application form can be found here. Contact Ibti Vincent, GCP communications assistant (i.vincent@cgiar.org), for more information.
GCP Training Program: Diversity/Breeding Courses ?Africa, Asia, and Latin America
The GCP is offering three courses in Analysis of Diversity and Molecular Breeding for NARS scientists in 2005: Pretoria, South Africa (22 May-1 June); Kasetsart University, Thailand (20 August-4 September); Santiago, Chile (3-21 September). Course information and links to the applications can be found here. Please email Carmen de Vicente (c.devicente@cgiar.org), GCP Capacity Building Coordinator, for more information.
Project Proposal Development Training Workshops - Africa, Asia, and Latin America
The Generation Challenge Program will host 3 project proposal development training workshops this year - one each in Benin, Malaysia, and Ecuador. These workshops will impart the basics of scientific project proposal writing, with a focus on how to develop proposals that mesh with the GCP research agenda. NARS scientists and GCP members located in the region are welcome to apply. The Benin workshop (22-27 May) and the Malaysia workshop (19-24 June) are already full and no more applications can be accepted. The third workshop in the series will be held in Quito, Ecuador from 5-9 September, 2005. The application form for the workshop can be found here. Deadline for applications: 6 June 2005. Please contact Karine Malgrand (k.malgrand@cgiar.org), workshop organizer, for more information.
Capacity Building Workshop Organizing Guidelines, Application Form, and Evaluation Form
Planning a capacity building activity or a workshop with NARS involvement in 2005? Check out these guidelines to help in your activity planning and quality assurance. Contact Carmen de Vicente (c.devicente@cgiar.org), GCP Capacity Building Coordinator, with questions or for more information.
The GCP website has a "Latest News" feature where we can post announcements about events, publications, etc., of interest to GCP members and the global genomics community. The website gets over 2000 hits per month, so here's a way to get some publicity for your news! If you have an announcement you would like posted, please send it to Ibti Vincent (i.vincent@cgiar.org) for posting to www.generationcp.org.