"The IDP BRIDGES will educate a new generation of plant scientists who are professionally competent in plant science and political policy. Our graduates will make an impact on the ability of the EU to respond to its changing needs in plant production, sustainable land use, agricultural developments and ecosystem services and conversation. IDP BRIDGES addresses the lack of trained scientists who are able to effectively contribute to political solutions by knowing how and when to integrate scientific evidence. We aim to educate plant scientists that are supra-disciplinary in mind, multidisciplinary in skills, and rigorous in their scientific excellence. They will be tomorrows professional scientists who understand the political and social context of their work. We will do this by involving 14 Early-Stage Researchers in an innovative research training programme at the interface science-policy and science-innovation. Tandem PhD research project jointly supervised and secondments to intersectorial associated partners based in 5 EU Member States and 8 Third Countries will ensure exposure to different working environments and cultures.IDP BRIDGES will build upon an existing doctoral programme managed by the Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center, a competence center of three Swiss universities. IDP BRIDGES will bring together 10 departments of 7 international universities, 12 associated partners of the socio-economic sector and 3 from industry. Additionally IDP BRIDGES will provide training in entrepreneurship skills and challenge the commercial exploitation of plant science research by offering an Idea Lab and a Green Business Workshop. An international and intersectorial cohort of trainers and mentors will provide the framework for advanced education and mentoring schemes. Different kinds of networking events and online platforms (Massive Open Online Course) will facilitate the exchange of knowledge and best practice and create new partnerships."