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Sustainably manage and protect the earth's natural resources

How does global change affect biodiversity? How can we manage our natural resources in a sustainable manner? How can we protect plants and wildlife in human dominated landscapes? What can we learn from microbes in nature and make them useful for mankind? Explore these questions within the track “Ecology and Conservation”.

The main focus of this track is creating knowledge on how to sustainably manage and protect the earth's natural resources. Within the track we prepare you to generate and apply knowledge in plant, animal, and microbe ecology, to address societal issues including management of natural resources, effects of climate change and biodiversity conservation. By following a unique multidisciplinary approach, this track teaches you to integrate knowledge of different disciplines and use it in practice.

During this track you will be closely working with our researchers. They will take you along in their research, place it in social context and show the future impact. This way, you get a good idea of the research process and working in a lab or in the field. In most cases, your major research project will take place in one of our research groups:

• Wildlife Ecology and Nature Restoration
• Ecology and Biodiversity
• Quantitative Biodiversity Dynamics

Causes and consequences of animal behaviour

Why do animals behave the way they do? How do they interact with their social and ecological environment? And which cognitive capacities do they use to achieve their goals? Explore these questions within the track “Animal Behaviour” from an evolutionary and ecological perspective.

You can work on research topics related to the evolution of social behaviour (encompassing cognition, cooperation, and communication), behavioural indicators of welfare, wildlife conservation (in situ and ex situ), ecological drivers of behaviour, and information transmission (social learning and culture). The program provides a unique multi-disciplinary approach to animal behavioural research, with work covering a variety of taxa (particularly primates and birds,).

During this track you will be working closely together with our researchers. They will take you along in their research and place it in context. This way, you get a good idea of the research process and working in the field of animal behavior from both a theoretical and practical perspective. Your major research project will take place in our research group. Get to know our research group and collaborators:

• Animal Behaviour and Cognition

Without plants, we do not have food

How do plants develop and respond to temperature and water? How can we make plants resistant to pathogens, so we don’t have to use pesticides anymore?  Or how can we make sure we still have food in 30 years? Dive into these questions within the track “Plant Biology”.

This track is designed for students with an interest in the molecular biology of plants. One of the strengths of the track Plant Biology is that knowledge of molecular and cellular mechanisms is placed in an ecological or agricultural context. In many projects, we explore natural diversity to understand the genetics underpinning important for plant resilience and crop yields for the future. This way we also work on our main goal: Making sure there is enough food in the future.

During this track you will be closely working with our researchers. They will take you along in their research, place it in societal context and show the future impact. This way, you get a good idea of the research process and working in a lab. Your major research project will take place in one of our research groups. Get to know our research groups:  

• Plant-Microbe Interactions
• Plant Stress Resilience
• Experimental and Computational Plant Development
• Translational Plant Biology

Check out the full version of the Plant Biology track website.

Key players in cycling the elements on Earth

How do fungi colonise substrates? How do fungi form reproductive structures such as mushrooms? How can fungi infect humans and animals? And how can fungi be used in the transition to a sustainable economy? Explore answers to these questions within the track “Fungal Biology”.

This track is research-oriented and especially suited for students interested in the role of fungi in the environment. Although fungi are less visible, they are key players in the functioning of ecosystems for instance by cycling of nutrients by degrading organic material.

The properties of fungi make them widely used in biotechnology for the production of enzymes or small molecules like antibiotics. Moreover, they are used to make sustainable materials or find applications in, for instance, biocontrol. Fungi therefore contribute to the transition to a sustainable and circular economy.

During this track you will be closely working with our researchers. They will take you along in their research, place it in social context and show the future impact. This way, you get a good idea of the research process and working in a lab. Your major research project will take place in one of our research groups. Get to know our research groups:

• Microbiology
• Plant-Microbe Interactions
• Ecology & Biodiversity