Class Objectives: Seminars are an important component of any interview process and valuable tools for disseminating scientific knowledge. Through the attendance of many departmental seminars and the development a research proposal students are encouraged to develop and improve both written and oral communication skills which will be essential for the continuation of their career.

Evaluation scheme: The course is graded on a pass/fail basis and has six essential components that need to be completed over a 2-3 year period.

• Critical review of presented seminars
• Preparation of a research grant (based on NSERC Discovery Grants)
• Presentation of thesis research in a departmental seminar
• Attendance at meetings of PLNT 7420 class
• Attendance at the seminars (a minimum of 80% required)
• Active participation to the journal club

• Critical review ( to be completed during the first year of enrolment)

Students are responsible for preparing 6 critical reviews of seminars presented in the Advanced Plant Seminar series. Three (3) of them should be in areas not familiar and out of your research interest/expertise. The remaining three (3) might include reviews on seminars close to your research area. The review should be no more than two typewritten pages and should be submitted NO LATER than a week after the presentation.

• Preparation of a research grant proposal ( to be completed BEFORE your research seminar)

Following the NSERC guidelines
(http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/OnlineServices-ServicesEnLigne/Forms-Formulaires_eng.asp) each student is responsible for submitting a research proposal on an area different from his/her research interest. An outline of the proposal should be presented to be for approval. The proposal should be given to me at least 2 months before you want your final grade.

• Seminar presentation (to be completed by the end of the 3 rd year)

Each student is required to present a formal 40-50 min presentation of his/her research to the Department. Two weeks prior the presentation the student should submit a draft of the talk to me for approval (including all the slides of the presentation) and a 1-page summary of the seminar. The presentation will be evaluated and an unsatisfactory grade will necessitate further presentations of the talk.

• Journal club (on-going)

There will be three study groups (Agronomy/Ecology, Plant Pathology, and Plant Physiology/Molecular Breeding). Each group will meet every week starting October 1st. At the meetings each student is responsible for providing and discussing relevant papers with his/her peers. Sample candidacy examination questions will also be provided on a regular basis, if available.

In preparation for the meeting each student is required to compile a list of 5-10 papers and provide the titles to the club journal organizer (TBA) by Sept. 21. The organizer will then arrange a schedule. I will oversee the process and evaluate your participation to the meetings and discussions>