Undergraduate student Yan Yuqing from department of plant protection visited The University of Western Australia (UWA) to take part in 2017 UWA International Short-term Research Training Program from July 5th to August 25th, 2017.

The program is aimed to enable junior students improve their research ability and enjoy lab work by conducting specific research projects under the instruction of professors in UWA. Also it was a good opportunity for them to experience team cooperation.

During this period, Yan Yuqing joined Professor Kadambot Siddique’s lab in UWA institute of Agriculture. And the project she conducted is “Description of root system size and shoot characteristics in wheat genotypes.”, which is focused on studying the role of root system size in conferring tolerance to drought stress. On the last day of the program, every student was required to present and illustrate their project in 3 minutes.

Apart from the lab work, students also have chances to take part in kinds of seminars and forums, during which they could improve their English expression skill and understand some experiments clearly. Also, they were encouraged to communicate with others and express their ideas.

The wonderful scene in Perth is memorable to everyone and participating in such a research training program is helpful to students to make sure what they want to focus on in further studies.