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The Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center (PSC) is a network of plant scientists based at three universities in Switzerland: the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, the University of Zurich and the University of Basel.

Established in 1998, the PSC has become a strong advocate for plant science research and education in Switzerland. Now represented by 700 plant scientists, the PSC is a truly multidisciplinary network, with research topics ranging from molecular biology to ecology, from systematic botany to evolution, and from agronomy to conservation biology.

An important mission of the PSC is to encourage the dialogue
with the public.

The PSC bridges Plant Sciences and Policy
The PSC bridges Plant Sciences and Policy

The PSC has been very successful in promoting interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research projects and has established several fellowship programs. Examples include sponsorships by Syngenta and the Mercator Foundation Switzerland of PhD and Post doc fellowships for cutting-edge research projects performed in the different PSC partner institutes.

Bridging Plant Sciences und Policy

Together with the Mercator Foundation Switzerland, the PSC opened a transdisciplinary research program that allows PhD students not only to carry out important research in plant sciences but also to reach beyond the boundaries of their disciplines by applying their research results within the work of policy-implementing organisations.

The PSC offers excellent training in the field of plant sciences at the Bachelor, Master’s, PhD and Post doc levels. Students can choose between two PhD programs and from a large variety of scientific and transferable skill courses, as well as diverse multimedia-rich e-learning courses.

Students can integrate these courses into their curricula. And recently, PSC began offering training workshops for high school teachers.

A new PhD Program in Plant Sciences and Policy

was launched that offers students the possibilities to gain the skills and contacts necessary to gap the bridge between science and implementation of new knowledge for the benefit of society.

The PSC believes in the value of cooperation

The network of national and international collaborations among the PSC and its scientists is continuously growing. PSC believes in the value of cooperation with other universities, research institutes, non-governmental organizations and industry partners, as an essential element of the scientific progress. Thus, PSC welcomes new partnerships.

The PSC also organizes annual symposia on topics at the forefront of plant sciences. These events are open to all scientists, whether from academia or industry.

An important mission of the PSC is to encourage the dialogue with the public by contributing a scientific point of view to social, economic, and political topics. For example, “Dialog Grün” is a platform to discuss the benefits and risks of using genetically modified plants and the resulting ecological, social and economic implications.