Following the InterDrought-II Congress (http://www.plantstress.com/id2/) and the EU-funded WUEMED workshop (http://www.distagenomics.unibo.it/wuemed/index.html) held in Rome from September 24 to 30, 2005, I am pleased to inform you that thanks to the collaboration of a number of colleagues and the availability of funds through the WUEMED project, an interdisciplinary training course on drought-related topics will be held at the Faculty of Agriculture in Bologna, Italy, from June 5 to 10, 2006.

The objective of the WUEMED course is to present and discuss the basic knowledge required to:

• investigate agronomic and physiological aspects/traits related to drought tolerance
• design and manage lab and field experiments to investigate the effects of drought
• apply molecular approaches to unravel the genetic basis of tolerance to drought
• manage a breeding program toward the improvement of drought tolerance.

The instructors of the WUEMED training course (see list in the attached program) are recognized experts in drought-related disciplines. The course will include lectures on agronomy and irrigation, water relations, physiology and ecophysiology of drought-stressed crops, conventional breeding approaches, molecular markers, QTL analysis, marker-assisted selection, genetic engineering and "omics" approaches. In some cases, the instructors will integrate the lectures with practical demonstrations. Throughout the course,instructors will be available to provide advice on strengthening research skills and preparing research results for publication. Instructors will also be available for reviewing manuscripts during the course.

The course is open to PhD students and young scientists interested in drought-related topics. A basic knowledge of plant biology, biochemistry, physiology and genetics is desirable. All lectures will be in English and will be held at the Faculty of Agriculture, Viale Fanin 44, Bologna, Italy.

There is no registration fee. The total number of participants will be limited to 40. Those interested in attending the WUEMED training course are required to fill in and return the enclosed registration form before May 10. Application forms should be e-mailed to silgiul27@yahoo.com or faxed "to the attention of Silvia Giuliani" (+39-051-2096241). Applicants are required to include a short (one page) CV. Applications without a CV will not be considered. All applicants will be notified via email by May 12.

A limited number of rooms have been reserved at the Express by Holiday Inn (3 star-plus hotel). More details on this hotel are available at: http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/ex/1/en/hd/blqfa

The Express by Holiday Inn is located at ca. 400 meters from the Faculty of Agriculture. The cost per person (including also breakfast, lunch and dinner) will be € 90/day for single occupancy and € 77/day for double occupancy. Those interested in reserving a room at the Express by Holiday Inn are required to fill in the form available at: http://www.distagenomics.unibo.it/wuemed/training_accommodation.html This form must be returned not later than May 15 to Teresa Negroni (teresa.n@pomodoroviaggi.it fax +39-051-790419).

A limited number of grants are available to cover the hotel costs and meals at the Express by Holiday Inn (from June 4 to 10). The selection criteria to request a GCP Travel Grant are the following:

1. The applicant should belong to an institution from a developing country (NARS or academia) that is either a member of the GCP Consortium or is working in collaboration with a GCP Consortium Institution.
2. He/She should work in research related to the running theme of the GCP (any of the Subprogrammes) with one of the GCP crops (rice, maize, barley, wheat, sorghum, millet, cassava, potato, sweet potato, yam, Musa, chickpea, cowpea, beans, lentil, pigeon pea, soybean, coconut, and groundnut)
3. The applicant should justify the objectives of the travel and benefits to his/her research and home institution.

Further details and the application form are available at http://www.generationcp.org/capcorner.php?da=0532008