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N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative

Professional Development Opportunities

Events and Conferences
Internships and Fellowships
Other Opportunities
Additional Resources

Events and Conferences

A2i Immersion Week 2025

Are you a late-stage graduate student or postdoc preparing for life beyond academia? Immersion Week is your chance to fast-track your transition into a non-academic career. From in-person professional development workshops to exclusive networking opportunities, this event will equip you with the skills, strategies, and connections you need to land your next big role. Learn more about the A2i Program at go.ncsu.edu/a2i.

Application Deadline: January 31, 2025 by 12 p.m.
Event Date: March 11-13, 2025 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Learn more and register 

Bayer Crop Science 2025 Mentoring Program

Are you a late-stage graduate student who is interested in pursuing a career in industry? Bayer Crop Science offers a mentoring program that focuses on the professional (not technical) skills needed to join the industry workforce. Applicants are strongly encouraged to attend one of virtual information session for this program. 
To apply, complete the online application and email your resume/CV directly to Rhonda Sutton (rhonda_sutton@ncsu.edu)

Application Deadline: February 2, 2025 at 5 p.m. 

Learn more and apply 

Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein Information Session

The Alt Protein Project at NC State invites you to an informative session on the Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein. Join them to learn more about the center’s vision to make NC State a biomanufacturing hub for sustainable proteins and the opportunities for students to drive this initiative.

Event Date: February 6, 2025 at 5:15 p.m.
Event Location: Talley Student Union, Room 3210

Register to attend 

Elo Life Systems 2 Minute Pitch Competition

CALS and N.C. PSI undergraduate and graduate students are invited to apply for a presentation slot at the Elo Life Systems 2 Minute Pitch Competition. This is a rare opportunity to present your current research to one of our local industry partners. The formal presentations will be followed by lunch with Elo employees and a tour of the facility. Elo Life will sponsor cash awards for the winners of the competition: $500 for first place, $300 for second place and $200 for third place. 

Application Deadline: January 23, 2025 at 11:59 p.m.

Competition Date:  February 27, 2025 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. Competition Location:  Elo Life Systems, Durham, NC 27709

Learn more and apply
Elo Life Systems logo

N.C. PSI Mashup – Data Driven Agriculture

Join us for our next “Mashup” at the NC Plant Sciences Initiative! This Mashup will feature a presentation from industry partner Dan Maycock, Chief Data Officer at Agerpoint. Our NC State expert that will present is Dr. Cranos Williams, who is a Goodnight Distinguished Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and N.C. PSI Platform Director for Data-Driven Agriculture. Presentations will be followed by a networking mixer will

Date: February 6, 2025 from 4-6 p.m.
Location: Seminar Rooms, Plant Sciences Building

Register to attend

NC State Career Fairs

Explore upcoming career fairs and events offered by various colleges and disciplines across NC State!

Office of University Interdisciplinary Programs

Discover OUIP’s list of interdisciplinary events across NC State

Conferences

Evoke Ag 2025

February 18-19, 2025
Brisbane, Queensland

Learn more and register 

World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit

March 11-12, 2025
San Francisco, CA

Learn more and register 

PAG Asia 2025

March 18-20, 2025
New Delhi, India

Learn more and register 

Company of Biologists 100 Year Conference

March 24-27, 2025
Liverpool, UK

Learn more and register 

International ICIPS Symposium

March 25-28, 2025
Berlin, Germany

Learn more and register 

UPSC Early Career Plant Scientist Symposium

March 26-27, 2025
Sweden

Learn more and register 

Global Congress on Plant Biology and Biotechnology

March 27-29, 2025
Singapore & Online

Learn more and register 

AI in Ag Conference

March 31 – April 2, 2025
Starkville, MS

Learn more and register 

IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference

April 22-25, 2025
London, UK

Learn more and register 

BioAgTech World

April 23-25, 2025
Delhi, India

Learn more and register 

PNNL’s Predictive Phenomics Conference

April 29-May 1, 2025
Richland, WA

Learn more and register 

18th International Symposium on Soil and Plant Analysis

June 9-13, 2025
Durham, NC

Learn more and register 

Plant Biology 2025

July 26-30, 2025
Milwaukee, WI

Learn more and register 

Upcoming PSI Events

All PSI Events
Feb 06

Thursday4:00 PM

Mashup at the N.C. PSI: Data-Driven Agriculture
Feb 20

Thursday2:00 PM

2025 N.C. PSI BRIDGE Symposium
Apr 17

Thursday3:00 PM

Emerging Research Showcase: Genome Editing in Crops

Internships and Fellowships

GRAD-AID for Ag: Graduate Training in Translational Convergent Research

The GRAD-AID for Ag program is an interdisciplinary graduate training initiative focused on addressing the global challenges of climate change and food security through innovations in sustainable agriculture. The program brings together students from diverse fields—basic plant biology, applied plant biology, and artificial intelligence (AI)—to develop data-driven solutions that accelerate the transition from lab discoveries to real-world agricultural applications. Open to prospective Ph. D. students and current Ph.D. students in their 1st–3rd year.
Application Deadline: January 17, 2025

Learn more and apply
Faculty and student in lab

USDA-ARS AI Center of Excellence/SCINet Graduate Student Intern Program

The N.C. PSI has partnered with the USDA-ARS AI Center of Excellence and SCINet to provide NC State graduate students with a 10-week paid summer internship focused on data science, AI, mathematical modeling, and related fields.
Application Deadline: Friday January 24, 2025 at 5pm 

Learn more and apply
Neural Network Brain

CEFS Agroecology Scholars Program in Research and Extension (ASPIRE) Internship

The ASPIRE Internship prepares undergraduate students with technical skills to meet complex food system challenges such as global climate change, food insecurity, and environmental concerns. Interns receive a $5,000 stipend, lodging, travel stipend, mentorship, access to hands-on cutting-edge research, professional development training, and an understanding of the impacts of agriculture on the environment and communities. 
Application Deadline: February 3, 2025
Learn more and apply here!

NSF I-Corps Program

The I-Corps Program at NC State offers a NSF training program aimed at helping scientists and engineers extend their ideas, research and inventions into the marketplace. This program consists of a four-session course focused on entrepreneurship and exploring the commercial viability of innovations.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Program Dates Vary 
*If accepted, your team will be placed in the next available cohort.
Learn more and apply

Learn more and apply 
Man in a research lab

SMART Scholarship-for-Service Program

Offers STEM students who are currently pursuing a bachelor’s, master’s, or Ph.D. a full scholarship, internships, annual stipends, and guaranteed employment with the Department of Defense.

Applications Deadline: December 1 at 5:00 p.m. EST
The SMART Program accepts applications annually from August 1 to December 1.

Learn more and apply 
Oak Ridge National Labs

Student Opportunities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Enhance your expertise and collaborate with many of the nation’s leading science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) experts as you complete your research. Opportunities are available for current undergraduate and graduate students to participate as members of research teams at ORNL. All internships come with a stipend.

Learn more 

NC State LanchPad

NC State Innovation and Entrepreneurship has developed an incubator program to support early-stage undergraduate and graduate student startups.

Learn more and apply

Other Opportunities

N.C. PSI Educational Outreach Opportunities

There are many ways to get involved with the N.C. PSI’s Educational Programs for K-12 students. Whether its developing activities from your research, talking with students about career paths, or getting hands-on in the demo lab, the possibilities are endless. Click the link below to learn about some of the ways you can help out!

Learn More and Volunteer
N.C. PSI graduate students teach high school students how to perform experiments in the Demo Lab.
N.C. PSI graduate students teach high school students in the CAALS 3D program how to perform experiments in the Demo Lab.

Resources

Career resources

The Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR) Job Board

International and domestic postdoctoral, faculty, research, field technician positions and more are listed for those interested in plant science careers.

Visit 

Plantae’s Career Center

Search for jobs, internships and mentorships in the US and abroad across a variety of industries and types of institutions.

Visit 

Ag Career Job Board

Search by sector, specialty and career type for job opportunities in every stage of the food system.

Visit 

National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) Job Board

Job opportunities in ag engineering and all other engineering disciplines.

Visit 

NC State Career Development Center

Take advantage of university career resources available to all NC State students

Explore 

N.C. PSI Certificate Programs

N.C. PSI offers two certificate programs, one for Ag Data Science and the other for Regulatory Science in Agriculture.

Discover