Agriculture faces critical challenges, including climate change, resource depletion, and rising food demand, that threaten human survival. However, these issues also offer Latin America and the Caribbean a unique opportunity to lead in sustainable agriculture and become a global agricultural powerhouse. A key solution lies in harnessing the power of microorganisms to make agriculture more sustainable and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by creating carbon sinks.
To achieve this, understanding the interactions between soil, microorganisms, plants, and the environment is essential. Sharing successful experiences with bioinputs—such as biofertilizers and biostimulants—in the region is crucial for continued innovation. Microorganisms offer transformative potential for addressing food security, climate change, and environmental sustainability, making agriculture more resilient and prosperous.
The RELAR-PGPR_Lat 2025 workshop will focus on advancing this mission by promoting research, collaboration, and investment in microbial biotechnology, bringing together government, academia, industry, and farmers to pioneer a sustainable agricultural future in the region.
Selected UNU-BIOLAC trainees will have full access to all scheduled activities of the congress (lectures, short communications, poster exhibition and discussions) because there will not be parallel sessions. UNU-BIOLAC trainees will additionally benefit from a specific workshop activity with scientists invited to the workshop and members of the organizing committee, in which every trainee will have the opportunity to present his/her research project for open discussion and get feedback and tutoring from the researchers involved in this activity. The program of the event thus offers an invaluable opportunity of intense learning and interaction with specialists and researchers along the whole week of the event.
General Information
The UNU-BIOLAC full fellowship covers travel expenses to attend the activity, accommodation, daily expenses for meals, and the registration fee. A total of up to 14 full fellowships will be awarded. Partial fellowships cover the registration fee only. A total of up to 14 partial fellowships will be awarded.
Applications are limited only to graduate students and early postdoctoral researchers (less than 3 years from Ph.D. achievement).
Applicants must submit an abstract and give a presentation at the meeting.
The application form and all supporting documents must be submitted in English.
Judging process and criteria
Applicants will have to submit an abstract of their undergoing research work, together with their c.v., and a letter of interest justifying the relevance of this workshop for their career, host institution, and its area of influence. A letter of support from the applicant’s current academic advisor or principal investigator must also be included. The presentation of a short video (1 to 2 minutes) in which the applicant explains his or her motivation for participating in the Workshop will be positively valued. The organizers will award fellowships based on the submitted abstract and the reasons the applicant gives to attend the meeting, including how the meeting will help them achieve their career goals. In addition, the selection process will consider merit, matching scientific interest and motivation, gender balance and equitable representation across different labs and research institutions.
Visit the course's page for full information on procedures, program, speakers, venue and more.
Application procedure
Registrations are open for the RELAR - PGPR Lat 2025
Applications for the UNU-BIOLAC scholarships will open on August 15th using this form (Google login required). The form is also accesible via the workshop's webpage.
For more information, send your questions to relar.pgpr.UNUBIOLAC@gmail.com
Last day to apply: September 15th, 2025.
