A second international short course on modelling for the sustainable management of crop health is scheduled for early in 2016, following the success of this year's week-long course in Volterra, Italy.
The course was an initiative from INRA's SMaCH (Sustainable Management of Crop Health) meta-programme and organised in collaboration by ENDURE, the PURE European project, and INRA's modelling Mixed Technology Network and department for continuing education.
It attracted 18 participants from seven countries to the International School of Advanced Education (SIAF) in Volterra, where participants were able to benefit from the expertise of nine European lecturers experienced in modelling for crop protection.
The course covered a wide range of modelling approaches and applications on the sustainable management of crop health including statistical, dynamic, agent-based and qualitative models and networks. Basic principles for the evaluation of the quality of prediction, sensitivity and uncertainty analysis and parameter estimation were presented, along with the fundamentals of the R language.
Using this knowledge, participants (pictured right) conducted modelling projects in groups throughout the week and presented their results during a specific session at the end of the week. The group dynamic which developed during the week created fruitful interactions among lecturers and participants.
To build on the success of this first edition, a second course is planned for early 2016. Through initiatives such as this, the SMaCH meta-programme is helping to educate researchers and extension personnel involved in crop health management around the world.
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