To stay innovative and creative in Life Sciences, it is important to provide students with an educational program that integrates the state of the art knowledge in their field of interest and that awakens their scientific curiosity and creativity. Providing up to date education in Biology, Biotechnology and Genetics is therefore an important goal of the PSB department.

The PSB department belongs to the Plant Biotechnology and Genetics unit from Ghent University that is headed by Prof. A. Depicker. The unit lends teachers for various courses in the Bachelor and Master programs that are offered by the Faculty of Science. The professors and senior scientists associated to the PSB department teach basic courses such as Genetics and Plant Developmental Biology and are involved in specialized courses in which they integrate the latest technologies and scientific developments. The department is an inspiring work place for undergraduate students to perform lab practices and research projects. Students that follow non-academic Bachelors are equally welcome and are trained in the most recent technologies available in plant biotechnology.

The PSB department hosts and trains a large number of PhD students. They obtain fellowships from various sources such as FWO, IWT, BOF and VIB and are integrated in the diverse scientific programs that run in the department. Every year, around July, a list of new PhD projects is made available for students to apply to.

The PSB department offers a number of opportunities for college students with a profound interest in science to work in a research laboratory. Scientists@work is a VIB program that introduces youngsters to life in the laboratory. Every second year we receive pupils from secondary schools in frame of the "Wetenschapsweek" initiative.

Finally, the PSB department is closely linked to the Institute of Plant Biotechnology for Developing Countries (IPBO) whose mission is to assist developing countries to gain access to the latest biotechnological developments. IPBO offer summer courses on Biosafety Assessment and Regulation of Agricultural Biotechnology and recently implemented a post-graduate course at the Ghent University on Biosafety in co-operation with the United Nations Industrial and Developmental Organisation (UNIDO).