Basic research in plant sciences helps meet the enormous challenge of securing food and health for a world population that has already reached 7 billions and is likely to grow to 9 billions by 2050. Very active in the domain of plant sciences, the Universities of Bern, Fribourg, Geneva, Lausanne and Neuchâtel in Western Switzerland house at least 30 research groups. Together these laboratories cover a wide range of research topics including the perception of light by plants, seed germination and plant development, mechanisms of resistance to diseases, plant-insect or plant-microbe interactions, metabolism of plant cells or epigenetic mechanisms. More details can be found in the BeNeFri and ALPS web sites.

The doctoral programme in Molecular Plant Sciences (MPS) is primarily dedicated to PhD students working in these 30 laboratories but also opened to students registered in other disciplines and who belong to the five Universities listed above. MPS aims to help PhD students broaden their scientific knowledge, acquire novel techniques through courses, workshops and seminars dedicated to plant sciences, as well as esthablish a social and scientific network of expertises. In addition, this doctoral programme will allow registered students to improve their generic skills ("soft skills") for example in scientific English, professional planning or project management. Together, these various facets of the MPS programme will help students successfully complete a PhD and secure a future professional career.