The Plant Sciences Symposia Series: an analysis of Corteva Agriscience’s innovative model for partnership between industry and academia. A synergistic relationship between industry and academia is beneficial to the advancement of both education and research in the plant sciences. Because industry depends on academia to provide skilled talent, it has a vested interest in supporting graduate education and making sure that the next generation of scientists has both the technical and soft skills to be successful in research in the private sector. The Corteva R&D-sponsored Plant Sciences Symposia Series (PSSS) represents an innovative high-impact model for supporting graduate education in the agricultural sciences at a global scale. Here we provide a detailed look at the history, philosophy and growth of the PSSS over the last twelve years and will present both quantitative and anecdotal evidence of its impact on graduate programs at public institutions around the world. Since its inception in 2008, it has grown into an international network of student-organized and hosted scientific events; over 150 symposia have been held at 60 universities and international research centers in 16 countries. The philosophy of this program is that by providing support for students to plan and host a scientific conference, they are given a unique opportunity to develop key leadership and organizational skills. In addition, it provides an opportunity for both building agricultural scientific competency and promoting networking and communication within the global academic community. Data are presented supporting the impact of this program, including estimates of the number of student organizers and participants in symposia, networks of student-invited speakers from both the public and private sectors, and examples of nascent student organizations which have resulted from this program.
