Royal visit to England

3rd Annual Progress Meeting held in Old Windsor (UK)

From 20th to 21st May 2019, the TomGEM consortium came together for its 3rd Progress Meeting in the royal surroundings of the De Vere Beaumont Estate in Old Windsor (UK). The story of the De Vere Beaumont Estate in Old Windsor is a very British one; a tale of democracy, royalty, education and religion. At its heart, sits an 18th-century mansion, a chapel, 75 event spaces and a Georgian white house in 40 acres of parkland grounds. The meeting was hosted by the local TomGEM partner Prof. Paul Fraser of the Royal Holloway University of London which is located just a few stone's throw away in Egham.

The first meeting day was dedicated to presentations by the academic and industry partners who described their progress since last year’s Project Meeting held in Naples. These presentations elaborated on significant findings, dissemination and training activities carried out by the partners and also the commercialisation potential of project results. A special highlight was that seven Early Stage Researchers working within the TomGEM team had the opportunity to present their experimental results, gaining experience and receiving valuable feedback.

Part of the meeting was also dedicated to an Exploitation Session which was a follow up to the Exploitation Workshop held at the 2nd Progress Meeting. The partners were divided into four groups and presented and discussed updates on the Key Exploitable Results obtained within the TomGEM project.

Overall, the meeting was a great success. All participants used the opportunity to have intense discussions, strengthen the collaborations in the project and showcase that TomGEM is making good progress towards the design of new strategies to maintain high yields of fruit and vegetables produced at harsh temperature conditions.

After two intense internal meeting days, the TomGEM Steering Committee, comprised of the leaders of the Work Packages, met on 22nd May 2019 with the REA Project Officer Silvia Abad for the 2nd review meeting. Two external reviewers attended the meeting to assess the progress of the project at the end of the 2nd reporting period. The experts were very pleased with the project results that were obtained so far and about the amount of data that has been produced so far.

TomGEM is now entering its final phase and will end in February 2020.

    The TomGEM consortium at its 3rd Progress Meeting in Old Windsor
    The TomGEM consortium at its 3rd Progress Meeting in Old Windsor
    TomGEM meeting at the De Vere Beaumont Estate in Old Windsor
    TomGEM meeting at the De Vere Beaumont Estate in Old Windsor
    Early Stage Researchers that presented their experimental results together with the TomGEM coordinator Prof. Mondher Bouzayen
    Early Stage Researchers that presented their experimental results together with the TomGEM coordinator Prof. Mondher Bouzayen
    Interview recording with Prof. Mondher Bouzayen
    Interview recording with Prof. Mondher Bouzayen
    TomGEM Work Package Leaders together with the two external reviewers and REA Project Officer Silvia Abad
    TomGEM Work Package Leaders together with the two external reviewers and REA Project Officer Silvia Abad
    Prof. Mohamed Zouine of the Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse (INPT) presenting results of Work Package 3 at the 2nd review meeting
    Prof. Mohamed Zouine of the Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse (INPT) presenting results of Work Package 3 at the 2nd review meeting