Background of Summer School / Introduction
How can we protect crops sustainably in a changing world? Do you want to learn how shifting regulations and environmental challenges affect the plant protection strategies?
This course is aimed at early-stage PhD students and MSc students from different subject areas, including ecology, entomology, nematology, plant breeding, and molecular biology. The beginning of the course provides a solid grounding in plant health through lectures devoted to introducing the fundamental aspects of the subject.
During the rest of the course, you will learn how evolving legislation (such as pesticide restrictions and rules on transgenic plants) in combination with changes in the environment (such as resistance development and climate change) are affecting research and practice in plant protection. Join us to better understand the pressures on plant health, and how innovative, sustainable approaches can address them, and how these factors affect your field of study.
Hosting University
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU)
Venue
SLU campus Alnarp; Sundsvägen 5, 234 56 Alnarp: https://maps.app.goo.gl/XxsdNSEfWbsANz3x9
Date
9 Aug - arrival; 10-14 Aug - course duration; 15 Aug - departure
Participants
Max 30
Previous Knowledge
A basic understanding of biology is required, as well as an interest in one or more related fields such as (agro)ecology, entomology, plant breeding, molecular biology, nematology, mycology, plant protection, plant pathology, integrated plant protection (IPP/IPM), pest–plant interactions, or topics linked to climate change and biotic or abiotic stress.
Course Content
The course aims to bring together PhD and MSc students from different backgrounds (biology, agronomy, horticulture, agroecology, etc.) working on plant health-related areas and set them in relation to aspects of policy governing their field of study.
To account for the expected diversity of student backgrounds and to make sure that they are on a comparable scientific level in the management strategy discussions, the course will begin with lectures introducing the fundamental aspects of plant health. The lecturers will be asked to give a brief, basic introduction to the subject area before moving on to recent research developments, with an emphasis on international perspectives and relevance for primary production systems. The materials for the literature seminar will also be selected to give examples of recent research from an international perspective, including applications within primary production.
The course will cover the following topics:
• Plant defense, resistance biology, and breeding.
• Pests and pathogens.
• Ecology/population dynamics, life cycle, etc. - some typical examples from each group.
• Crop loss assessment and presentation of different management methods, e.g., biological and chemical control, resistance breeding, molecular tools, disease prediction, etc.
• Development of sustainable management strategies based on the different methods that are at hand - examples from different cropping systems - agriculture, horticulture, and forestry.
• How the threats from pathogens and pests can be expected to be affected by climate change. How are different protection strategies affected by and can be adapted to climate change?
• How changes in pathogens and the environment (resistance development, climate change), in combination with changing regulations (restrictions on pesticide use, legislation on transgenic plants, will impact plant health and plant protection in the future.
• How current and future developments influence the research field of plant health. Applied examples will illustrate how changes in regulations have affected plant health strategies, and students will reflect on the potential positive or negative impacts on their own case studies.
Intended Learning Outcome (ILO)
After completing the course, the student is expected to be able to:
• Enumerate at least three biological aspects of plant defense.
• Compare and contrast the natural system with the cultivated system, including systems for primary production concerning plant defense and how agricultural practices shape the interactions between plants and pests/pathogens.
• Describe the ecology and biology of common pests and/or pathogens.
• Relate molecular mechanisms of host and pest/pathogen interactions to pest/pathogen management methods and strategies.
• Apply knowledge of pest/pathogen management methods and strategies to evaluate research results from case studies and the scientific literature.
• Select a plant-pathogen/pest system relevant to primary production and formulate a plant protection strategy based on the latest results
and trends within plant protection as part of the project-based learning case scenarios, and use them to evaluate their own research in a broader perspective.
• Give an overview of recent and projected future trends in legislation in Europe that affect plant protection.
• Discuss possible future adaptations of existing plant protection strategies in response to emerging regulatory and environmental challenges and analyse the possible consequences of these adaptations.
Course Schedule
The preliminary course schedule:
Su 9 August: Arrival and welcome in Alnarp
Mo 10 August: 9-12:00 - Introductory lectures; 13-17:00 - Case study preparation, literature seminar
Tu 11 August: 9-12 - Lectures; 13-17:00 - Case study preparation, lectures
We 12 August: All day excursion (Denmark/Sweden)
Thu 13 August: 9-12 - Lectures; 13-17:00 - Case study preparation, literature seminar
Fri 14 August: 9-16 - Lectures and case study presentations; 17-23:00 Farewell dinner and social event
Sat 15 August: Departure from Alnarp
Course Language
English
Course Format / Teaching Methods
Online and physical classes, groupwork assignments, excursions, and field visits.
Credits
ECTS Credits and Workload Overview
| Number of Credits [ECTS] | 3 |
|---|---|
| TOTAL Workload [hours] | 50 estimated |
| Student's own work [hours] | 20 estimated |
| Contact classes [hours] | 30 estimated |
| Exam [hours] | 0 |
Type of Assessment and Assessment Criteria
The marking scale will be pass/failed. The criteria for attaining the different grades will be: 1. Attendance during course lectures 2. Participation in group work and oral presentations assigned in the course. 3. Submission of questions and topics of discussion for each literature seminar, based on the lectures and the assigned readings. 4. Oral and written report of the project-based learning case study presenting a pest/pathogen management strategy for a cultivation system or global pest/pathogen problem and how changes in legislation can benefit or challenge this strategy.
Cultural Activities / Social Program
Welcome and goodbye dinners.
Tuition Fees
No tuition fee.
Additional Costs
Travel expenses and meals for the duration of the course (possibility to cook or visit restaurant at the campus).
Accommodation
Accommodation will be provided at the SLU campus Alnarp (single rooms), free of charge. Students have to bring their own bedsheets.
Financing - Specific for the Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Program (BIP)
The summer school is structured as a comprehensive Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Program (BIP; blended meaning consisting of an online and on-site part). Prospective participants from ELLS universities outside of Sweden, are encouraged to obtain prior to applying 1. an approved Erasmus learning agreement and 2. an approved Erasmus grant agreement for the Blended Intensive Programme for the summer school. Admission priority will be given to participants who have obtained such agreements. You can inquire with your Erasmus coordinator or the ELLS International Relations Officer(s) of your university about the possibility of obtaining such a grant. Also ‘zero grants’, without available money count for approval priority. You can find the list of contact persons for each ELLS university here:
euroleague-study.org/en/r-20337-alliance/r-20346-support-teams/r-20469-international-relations-officers-iro/international-relations-officers-iro.html#Contact Info.
Prospective participants of non-ELLS universities are directed towards their staff dealing with Erasmus programmes or student exchange.
Health Insurance
Participants are responsible for adequate health insurance during their participation in the program.
Visa
Participants are responsible for checking whether a visa is required. If support letters are needed, contact the administrative contact person below.
Application Deadline
1 May 2026
Link to online Application form
https://forms.office.com/e/AvPitdFaAQ
Contact persons for scientific questions
Svante Resjö - svante.resjo@slu.se
Contact person for administrative questions
Anna Maňourová - anna.manourova@slu.se