The problems and issues in agriculture and life sciences are becoming more and more global, international and multi-disciplinary as proven, among others, by the recent food crisis, the climate and other environmental problems, the globalization of food standards, the increased interactions between commodity and energy markets, the globalised risks of plant and animal diseases, and contaminations. The development of doctoral/graduate research schoolsSkills set development of doctoral graduates and post-doctoral staffUniversity Strategic Plans in support of early stage researchers