• The organisation has inaugurated its XXIV Master in Plant Genetics, Genomics and Breeding and the IX Master in Animal Nutrition, with students from 17 countries
• During the ceremony, CIHEAM Zaragoza has announced the creation of an award for outstanding academic achievement with a positive impact on cooperation in Mediterranean countries
• The CIHEAM prize for the Best Masters Thesis 2022 has been awarded to a student of CIHEAM Zaragoza for a study on artificial intelligence for the prediction of extreme hydrological events

Zaragoza, 2 November 2023.- CIHEAM Zaragoza, Spanish headquarters of the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM), has officially inaugurated the academic year 2023-2024 with a renewed commitment to training as tool for cooperation in agriculture and food. Raúl Compés, director of CIHEAM Zaragoza, has spoken of the values that define the unique educational model offered by the organisation, including excellence, internationalisation, harmony, dialogue and union between countries and cultures.

He went on to say that “CIHEAM Zaragoza’s training and knowledge transfer programmes foster cooperation in order to overcome the major challenges of agrifood systems in the Mediterranean and worldwide. Today, more than ever, considering the current environmental, geopolitical and social global crises, cooperation is a very powerful tool and a hallmark of our activities”.

The ceremony was held in CIHEAM Zaragoza’s auditorium, to mark the official start of the XXIV Master in Plant Genetics, Genomics and Breeding (coorganised with the University of Lleida in collaboration with ICARDA, the CBGP and Agrotecnio) and the IX Master in Animal Nutrition (co-organised with the University of Zaragoza in collaboration with the Polytechnical University of Madrid and FEDNA), that have attracted young people from 17 countries (Algeria, Belgium, Cameroon, Colombia, Egypt, Ghana, India, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Russia, Senegal, Spain, Tunisia, Türkiye and Uruguay).

The Master programmes offered this year on the Campus of Aula Dei will address crop breeding in the context of climate change and the improvement of sustainable livestock systems by improving nutrition. CIHEAM Zaragoza’s scholarship scheme enables talented students from the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean to participate in these postgraduate studies. The programmes are delivered by renowned experts from all over the world, invited to share their expertise in each of the programmes’ subjects.

Ramón Esteruelas-CIHEAM Zaragoza Prize for outstanding achievement and announcement of the winner of the Best Masters Thesis Prize 2022

The organisers of the event have also announced the creation of the Ramón Esteruelas-CIHEAM Zaragoza Prize for outstanding academic achievement. The prize is named in memory of Ramón Esteruelas, visionary and key figure in the creation of CIHEAM in Paris in 1962. Through this award, CIHEAM Zaragoza acknowledges the pursuit of academic excellence to enhance cooperation and development in agriculture and food within Mediterranean countries.

Likewise, the CIHEAM Prize for the Best Masters Thesis 2022 has been conferred to former CIHEAM Zaragoza student Mohamed Hamitouche. This prize, created in 1994, is awarded by the General Secretariat of CIHEAM in recognition of relevant research work conducted by MSc students in the framework of Master programmes delivered by the four Institutes (Bari -Italy-, Chania –Greece -, Montpellier -France- and Zaragoza -Spain-) and supports the development of their scientific careers.

Hamitouche, who completed CIHEAM Zaragoza’s International Master «Sustainable Water Management and Governance in Natural and Agricultural Environments» delivered from 2020 to 2022, has won the prize for his thesis «Hydrological modelling using artificial intelligence to characterise and predict extreme hydrological events», carried out under the supervision of Dr José Luis Molina at the University of Salamanca.

Inaugural lecture on the potentialities and limitations of the CAP beyond 2023

The inaugural lecture was given by Albert Massot, former research administrator of the General Directorate of Domestic Policies of the European Parliament -Department of Agricultural and Rural Studies, who addressed the singularities of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) beyond 2023. During his talk, Massot explored the potentialities and the major limits and conditioning factors in the light of the elections of the European Parliament in June 2024, the forthcoming mandate and the new multiannual financial framework of the European Union.

The event was presided by the director of CIHEAM Zaragoza, together with the vice-dean of academic policy and human resources of the Faculty of Veterinary Science of the University of Zaragoza (coorganiser of the Master in Animal Nutrition), José Luis Olleta; director of Agrotecnio, attached to the University of Lleida (coorganiser of the Master in Plant Genetics, Genomics and Breeding), José Antonio Bonet; director of the Agrifood Research and Technology Centre of Aragon (CITA), Miguel Gutiérrez; and the director general of Agricultural Production of the Government of Aragon, Carlos Calvo; with the attendance of Antonio Molina, director of the Centre for Plant Biotechnology and Genomis (CBGP).

Pioneer in implementing postgraduate studies in Spain, the Spanish headquarters of CIHEAM has trained over 17000 young people and professionals since its creation over 50 years ago. The masters delivered by CIHEAM Zaragoza are the result of collaboration between different institutions: universities, research centres, public administrations, international bodies and entities from the private sector.