Industrial:
All trainees will complete an internship in an industrial laboratory. Given N.C. State's proximity to the Research Triangle Park, which has an expanding agricultural biotechnology and agricultural chemical industry, numerous opportunities exist for such internships. The industrial internship need not be done with a company in RTP, but could be done anywhere that a suitable situation exists. The Executive Committee will help set up internships at companies that have expressed interest in participating (Aventis, Paradigm and Syngenta; see Appendix 2 for supporting letters). The duration of the internship should be at least one to two weeks, during which time the trainee will "shadow" an industry researcher. Internships could last longer and involve collaborative research projects if there are specific ongoing collaborations between a co-advisor and the company. All rotations done to satisfy the training requirements must be approved in advance by the Executive Committee and described in the trainee's annual report. This report will not, of course, include aspects of proprietary research encountered in the company during the rotation.

International:
International Internship/Global Perspectives on Research.
N.C. State has a long tradition of international programs in agriculture for crop improvement. One of the most notable examples was the launching of the International Potato Center (CIP) in Peru during the late 1960s, which was part of? the North Carolina Mission to Peru that focused on potatoes and other Andean tuber crops. Today, NCSU continues to have outstanding linkages in many parts of the world. Some of these linkages are institutional in nature, such as formal ties with universities in China, Ghana, the N.C. Japan Center and the joint N.C.-Israel program in science, to name only a few. In addition, the principals in this project have extensive international credentials. Most of the members of this training group have active international components to their research programs. These include strong ties with prestigious academic institutions and industry. The caliber of these collaborations is further documented in that three have had visiting fellowships to Japan, one to England and one to Australia and are serving on various international advisory and editorial boards.

Through this training grant we will be able to bring this wealth of investigator experience and the institutional resources together to provide senior graduate students with a significant global experience in seeing how fundamental biology is applied to crop improvement. Although the emphasis is often different, crop improvement at the international level is also dependent on discovery, development, and extension (delivery). We have developed three quite different scenarios, each of which encompasses the primary elements of crop improvement (see letters of institutional support, Appendix 2).

(i). Europe. Basic and applied sciences as related to commercial seed companies. We have chosen the Netherlands as the site for this experience. Here the student will visit Wageningen Agricultural University, Plant Genetics International (a privatized version of ARS-USDA), University of Amsterdam, Leiden, and possibly Ghent in Belgium. In addition, s/he will visit KeyGene in Wageningen, where AFLP technology was developed for marker assisted breeding, Syngenta and other seed companies located in Enkhuizen, Syngenta Mogen as well as the Dutch flower auctions in Aalsmeer. In this experience students will see first-hand basic research in a European university and in industry (Mogen, KeyGene). They will see developmental research in the public and private sectors and some outcomes at the flower auction.

(ii). Japan. Here the student will have the opportunity to experience the same basic sciences in public and private settings, but in a more culturally diverse setting. The focus would be in and around Tokyo with the student visiting the University of Tokyo and national and regional Agricultural Research Centers at Tsukuba and Hibaraki. In addition, the student will visit research and development facilities for Kirin LTD in Yokohama and Utsunomiya. Here the emphasis of research would be on research and development for worldwide food and beverage business. This would provide a distinct contrast to the previous opportunity focused more on production.

(iii). Peru. The third option is distinct from the other two in it is focused on agriculture suited for developing economies. The students would begin by visiting CIP (International Potato Center) Headquarters located in the suburbs of Lima, Peru. They would experience the fundamental research conducted in-house as well as the contract programs. They will also visit the local universities that are located nearby. In addition, they would see the emphasis on extension and outreach and how these programs are coordinated globally as well as in-country networks.

These are three examples of the types of programs we would offer as part of the training fellowship to provide an awareness of global programs. Each would not only provide exposure to the basic research culture, but also afford the opportunity to see the utilization of this information. These three examples were chosen because one or more of the principals has experience in these areas, they can be accessed relatively easily from Raleigh and once the student arrives in the country, s/he can experience many venues from the arrival point. International internships would not be limited to these sites, however, should a suitable situation exist elsewhere.