Dear all,

This second SPS newsletter comes out immediately after the LabEx auditions by international committees, organized by the ANR. Together with Marie-Jeanne Sellier (SPS manager) and Patricio Leboeuf (head of research at the Université Paris-Saclay), we presented the goals, actions and results of SPS in the context of Paris-Saclay. We now expect a feedback of the international committee to take into account their remarks in our strategy. Very briefly, it seems that our actions and academic performance (research and training) have been appreciated, as well as our wish to now focus on aspects related to  partnership development and innovation, on one hand, and the preparation of the period following the end of the current project (2020), on the other hand.

Various events organized by, or with the participation of, SPS have occurred, such as the "Fascination of Plant Day" which was a success. Others will soon take place, as we are now moving rapidly towards the Seed Biology Paris Summer School, followed by the International Conference on Arabidopsis Research and its satellite conference on Post-transcriptional Gene Regulation in Plants. Note also the second Saclay Plant' Innov’ meeting with potential industrial partners organized in October.

Finally, we are now active on multiple social networks and information sites (ie LinkedIn, Scoop.it, Twitter or Vimeo) to disseminate more regularly news and information that may interest our community, concerning research, training or innovation.

If you have any information to circulate, feel free to contact us!

Wishing you all a great summer,

Loïc Lepiniec (coordinator) and Marie-Jeanne Sellier (manager)