From 12 to 23 May 2025, the 2025 Molecular Breeding Academy (MBA) (Chinese Class) was successfully held. A total of 17 participants enrolled in this training course, coming from six provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities nationwide. Among them, 13 were from seed enterprises, 3 from research institutes, and 1 from a university.

 

 

This training course had 17 sessions. In addition to the main courses, well-known experts in breeding-related fields were invited to give special presentations on the breeding of important crops. Drs. Yunbi Xu and Xingping Zhang served as the lead instructors. Dr. Jian Zhang, General Manager of Zhongnong Jianuo Seed Technology Co., Ltd.; Dr. Xiaomu Niu, Deputy General Manager for Research of BellaGen; Research Professor Yuanzhu Yang, Deputy General Manager of Yuan Longping High-Tech Co., Ltd.; Drs. Jiuran Zhao and Wang Kaiyi of Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences; and Associate Researcher Professor Tingting Wu of the Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, served as specially-appointed lecturers for the professional courses.

 

Academician Xing Wang Deng, Director of Peking University Institute of Advanced Agricultural Sciences and Director of Shandong Laboratory of Advanced Agriculture Sciences in Weifang, attended the ceremony and introduced the basic situation of the institute and the provincial laboratory.

 

 

In addition to theoretical study and technical training, the training course carried out a rich variety of extracurricular activities. On 14 May, the participants visited and inspected the biotechnology platforms and facilities of the Institute / Provincial Laboratory, including cryo-electron microscopy, mass spectrometry analyzers, transgenic laboratories and smart greenhouses.

 

Inspection of the Institute’s biological microstructure research platform, biotechnology platform, plant growth chambers and greenhouses

 

On 21 May the participants visited the crop breeding base located near the institute campus. They mainly inspected vegetable and maize experiments in plastic tunnels, as well as wheat genetic germplasm resources and breeding materials grown in the field. Vice-Director Xingping Zhang introduced the main breeding work of the breeding platform and at the same time shared some practical breeding experience and experimental techniques with the participants.

 

 Inspection of the Institute breeding base

 

On the morning of Saturday (17th), the participants attended the Weifang Cross-Strait Youth Agricultural Technology Talent Exchange and Study Camp, and carried out technical exchanges with young scientific and technical personnel from Taiwan.

 

 Participation in the Weifang Cross-Strait Youth Agricultural Technology Talent Exchange and Study Camp

 

On the afternoon of Saturday (17th), the course participants visited and inspected agricultural technology companies around Xiashan. The molecular marker testing laboratory and facilities of Shandong Xuankang Seed Technology Co., Ltd. left a deep impression on the participants.

 

 Visit to Shandong Xuankang Seed Technology Co., Ltd.

 

At Shandong Daai Jiangshan Agriculture Technology Co., Ltd., the participants inspected ginger production and processing, and tasted the ginger products produced by the company.

 

 Visit to Shandong Daai Jiangshan Agriculture Technology Co., Ltd.

 

Subsequently, the participants visited the Zhonghui Gao Xin Asparagus Planting Base, studying, observing and comparing open-field and greenhouse asparagus cultivation and management.

 

 Visit to Zhonghui Gao Xin Asparagus Planting Base

 

At Fengniannian Digital Agriculture Planting Park — the industry–university–research base of Peking University Institute of Advanced Agricultural Sciences — the participants, while tasting blueberries, witnessed with their own eyes the modernized management of blueberry production, including automatic monitoring and production management systems.

 

 Visit to Fengniannian Digital Agriculture Planting Park

 

As the last part of Saturday’s activities, the participants came to Sunshine Mambo Tropical Rainforest Ecological Science Museum for a visit. The rich tropical plants and bird resources in the museum, together with the natural atmosphere full of education and humanistic environment, made the participants linger.

 

Visit to Sunshine Mambo Tropical Rainforest Ecological Science Museum

 

Early on the morning of Sunday (18th), the participants took a bus to Shouguang for visits and inspections. At Shandong Lisente Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd., the participants visited the modern greenhouse facilities designed and manufactured by the company itself. The participants felt the domestic production of modern greenhouses and their potential applications in vegetable production and breeding.

 

Visit to Shandong Lisente Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd.

 

At Health (Shandong) Seedling Co., Ltd., the participants saw the key link in the whole seed-industry chain — seedling breeding, production, sales and distribution. Everyone felt the importance of concentrating on one trade in the seed industry, refining it, and seriously making it stronger.

 

Visit to Health (Shandong) Seedling Co., Ltd.

 

As the last stop of Sunday’s activities, the participants visited the 26th China (Shouguang) International Vegetable Science and Technology Expo. All kinds of vegetable sculptures, various vegetable trees, special cultivation and ornamental crops dazzled the participants; they took group photos one after another.

 

Visit to the 26th China (Shouguang) International Vegetable Science and Technology Expo

 

The participants used their spare time to hike up nearby Xiashan. Although the weather was not favorable and the mountain was shrouded in fog, this unexpected weather instead let everyone appreciate the unique scenery of swirling clouds and mist, and also planted a seed of expectation for revisiting Xiashan in the future.

 

Climbing Xiashan

 

During the training period, in order to enhance mutual understanding among the participants and to facilitate future exchange and cooperation after graduation, the course organized the participants to introduce themselves and interact.

 

Interaction and exchange among MBA participants

 

In order to understand the learning progress of the participants and to optimize subsequent training plans, the seminar arranged two staged tests in the middle and at the end of the course. Many participants who had left campus for years once again experienced the tense atmosphere of exams, yet their concentrated answering fully demonstrated the thirst for knowledge of professionals returning to the classroom. This serious attitude toward learning was particularly moving.

 

 Participants taking the exams

 

The after-class activity system carefully built by the training course was quite outstanding. Through diversified social arrangements, the participants’ training life was effectively enriched. The daily morning and afternoon coffee breaks became natural venues for knowledge exchange, while the special barbecue and beer party cleverly created a relaxed and harmonious team atmosphere. Particularly valuable was the academic dinner jointly held with the institute’s breeding platform, which successfully built a bridge for in-depth dialogue among industry, academia and research — during the dinner, participants completed multiple value exchanges from technical discussions to cooperation opportunities. This “social + academic” composite activity design not only relieved the academic pressure of adult learners but also created added value beyond expectations.

 

 Participants’ gathering

 

In the final session of the course, Dr. Jian Li, an expert of the institute, was invited to introduce work progress. Her report “Precise Design Breeding in Wheat” brought participants the latest advances in wheat breeding, especially third-generation hybrid wheat breeding.

 

 Special presentation by Dr. Jian Li

 

At 2:00 p.m. on 23 May, the training course held a grand closing ceremony. Lead instructor Dr. Yunbi Xu summarized the teaching and training activities of the course. At the same time, he thanked Weifang Beiqian Technology Service Co., Ltd. for its organization, thanked MolBreeding Biotechnology Co., Ltd. and UDream Biotechnology (Weifang) Co., Ltd. for their sponsorship, and thanked the three teachers of the logistics support team (Sen Tang, Xinxin Yu, Yu Gao). Three trainees received the Outstanding Trainee Award and were commended. A trainee representative gave an impromptu speech on stage, expressing feelings about participating in the course and discussing gains and insights. In his remarks following the presentation of the certificates, Vice-Director Xingping Zhang encouraged the trainees to apply what they had learned in the course to breeding innovation, so as to help the high-quality development of China’s seed industry.

 

 Closing ceremony

 

Through sharing the latest molecular breeding theories, technologies, platforms and their applications, this course broadened the participants’ version, provided them with experience in seed-industry improvement and variety innovation, and built a three-dimensional learning network linking industry, academia and research. The participants deepened their mutual affection and laid a solid foundation for future in-depth cooperation.