Plant biotechnologists celebrate a fruitful year
The second annual report from the European Plant Biotechnology Network (EPBN) reflects on a year of constructive collaborative work during which the organisation outperformed its original objectives. The EPBN is an EU-funded project set up by the European interest group AMICA and the plant industrial platform. 'It has accomplished a formidable task of networking all scientists involved in the EU-funded plant biotechnology projects under BIOTECH II,' according to the report. The publication also describes how the EPBN has been active in projecting these groups' scientific achievements and advances in plant biotechnology to industry and media as well as a broader audience. EPBN says the European plant biotechnology week, which included the major conference 'Phytosphere '99' underpinned the organisation's success. Almost 300 representatives from science, industry, politics and the media attended the event, enabling many valuable interactions, says EPBN. An interactive workshop in Majorca was also a success and helped to promote start-ups and encourage entrepreneurs in the field of plant biotechnology. In the last year, the EPBN has fostered links through its e-mail and web networks with regular electronic briefs and news being circulated through the entire network. Its website at http://www.epbn.org has also had a facelift and now offers a plethora of information on plant biotechnology meetings, reports, archived mailings and other articles as well as links to related web services.