KWS and the Universität Hohenheim set up an Endowed Chair for Plant Breeding [02.12.07]
Unique in Europe
The new discipline of Breeding Informatics will raise the profile of biodiversity
Press conference and signing of the contract
on 24 November 2006 at the University of Hohenheim
(Einbeck, 13.11.2006/cbö). To mark its 150th anniversary, KWS SAAT AG is creating an Endowed Chair in cooperation with the Universität Hohenheim. This Endowed Chair will further reinforce the University’s leading position in research and teaching in the field of plant breeding and will be expanded into an international “Centre of Excellence.“
For almost 50 years, KWS has had a close relationship with the then Institute for Plant Breeding and State Seed Breeding Institute at the Universität Hohenheim, based on their work with Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. F. Wolfgang Schnell. “Right up to today the research and teaching at the University is a key partnership for us in training academics and scientists, in common research programmes“, states Dr. Andreas J. Büchting, Spokesman for the Executive Board of KWS. This excellent collaboration over the years has been “one of the key factors in the success of KWS on the global marketplace,“ Mr. Büchting goes on to say.
“We are very pleased that this valuable collaboration will be further enhanced with this Endowed Chair. At the same time we are opening up a new direction in research, which up to now is unique in Europe,“ explains the Rector of the Universität Hohenheim, Prof. Dr. Hans-Peter Liebig. The objective is to open up breeding to new methods using information technology, in order to be able to use the enormous natural diversity of crops for targeted new breeds. “We have already carried out this pioneering work in several pilot projects. The KWS Endowed Chair will now enable the whole breadth of this field of research to be investigated in the long-term.
Increasing competitiveness
International competitiveness in the field of plant breeding at the Universität Hohenheim will be further reinforced by the “F. W. Schnell Endowed Chair for Crop Biodiversity and Breeding Informatics.“
“We are convinced of the achievement potential of this field, both at home and abroad,“ emphasises Dr. Günter Strittmatter, Head of Research and Breeding at KWS. The Endowed Chair will make a significant contribution to making research and teaching in plant breeding more appealing to German and international students. Dr. Strittmatter went on to say that the company had established that the Universität Hohenheim had the “best prerequisites“ for this future-orientated work.
Biodiversity and Breeding Informatics in the spotlight
The focus of this work are the fields of crop biodiversity and breeding informatics - “the successful future handling of new breeding goals to sustainably ensure the basis for the food and natural raw materials on this Earth will be dependent on the findings from these two areas of research,“ emphasises Dr. Strittmatter. At the same time these fields will permit multifaceted cooperation in a national and international level.
Endowed Chair guaranteed in the long-term
KWS and the Universität Hohenheim will each fund half the cost of the staff and resources of the Endowed Chair for a period of eight years. The Federation of Benefactors will provide the Endowed Chair with 15,000 euros annually and will support it in terms of teaching content and organisation. The University has agreed to continue to fund the Chair for a minimum period of eight years thereafter.
About KWS
KWS is one of the leading international plant breeding companies and operates in 70 countries worldwide. It has a total workforce of 2600 in the KWS Group, primarily in Europe and he USA. Their product range includes new strains of sugar beet, maize and crop seeds as well as oilseeds. For over 150 years, KWS has been managed as an independent family firm.
About the Universität Hohenheim
The Universität Hohenheim has Germany’s largest and leading Faculty of Agriculture with 50 professors, 1545 students and 350 doctoral students. Its focus includes Life Sciences within the food chain, as well as fields, such as bioenergy and sustainable raw materials. The Science Council only recently benchmarked the University’s research as “the widest and best networked,“ its teaching as “most comprehensive“ and its transfer of knowledge and expertise into business as “exemplary“ (“Recommendations for the Development of Agricultural Sciences“ 2006).
Contact for press:
Claudia Bölter
KWS SAAT AG
Tel. 0 55 61/311-334
E-mail: c.boelter@kws.de
Florian Klebs
University Hohenheim
Tel. 0711/459-22001
E-Mail: presse@uni-hohenheim.de