International collaboration vital for UK plant science, says report

Plant science has enormous potential but would benefit from increased links between academia and industry, and continued international collaboration, advisers to the Royal Society of Biology have said.

In the report Growing the Future, published on 28 January, a group of prominent plant scientists said, “International collaboration is a vital component of UK plant science”. Maintaining close links with networks and enabling movement of skilled international workers is “essential” for preserving the UK’s pre-eminent position in the biosciences, they said.

“Continued involvement in multicountry research programmes is vital; they provide mechanisms for collaboration, funding and access to infrastructure that can deliver hugely ambitious plant re-engineering projects that would not be possible without global cooperation,” the advisers said.