Location: The Netherlands
Internship Duration (mandatory): 6 months

Available Periods:

1 June 2027 – 1 December 2028
1 July 2027 – 1 January 2028
About the Internship

Our client operates a state-of-the-art botanical laboratory specializing in the production of doubled haploids for plant breeding programs. The laboratory produces doubled haploids in crops such as wheat, rapeseed, barley, and maize, as well as smaller programs involving onions and various Brassica species.

Depending on the crop, different techniques are used, including microspore culture, wide hybridization, and gynogenesis. Work is carried out both in the laboratory and in the greenhouse environment.

This internship offers an excellent opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a high-throughput tissue culture laboratory while developing both practical and theoretical expertise in doubled haploid production.

Your Responsibilities

During the internship, you will be involved in a wide range of tissue culture and plant production activities, including:

Working under sterile laboratory conditions
Isolating microspores and embryos
Preparing culture media for plant and embryo growth
Sterilizing plant material
Handling and maintaining tissue cultures
Learning about the effect of plant hormones on shoot and root development
Isolating embryos and processing callus cultures
Growing and maintaining plants in greenhouses and phytotrons
Operating laboratory equipment such as binocular microscopes, centrifuges, and autoclaves

Approximately 75% of your time will be spent in the laboratory and 25% in the greenhouse, depending on the crop and season.

What You Will Learn
Practical expertise in doubled haploid production
Advanced tissue culture techniques
Large-scale laboratory workflow and process management
Teamwork and communication within a production-oriented laboratory
The role of doubled haploids in modern plant breeding
Independent experimental planning and execution through small-scale projects

Students are encouraged to deepen their theoretical understanding of haploid and doubled haploid production to become both practical and theoretical specialists in this important area of plant breeding.

About the Laboratory

Please note that this is a production laboratory rather than a research laboratory. The focus is on efficient, large-scale production and process optimization. You will gain valuable experience in how commercial plant breeding operations are organized and managed.

Requirements
Bachelor's or Master's student in:
Agricultural Sciences
Plant Sciences
Biology
Biotechnology
Natural Sciences
Related fields
Strong interest in plant tissue culture and plant breeding
Motivated, accurate, and able to work independently
Good English communication skills
Important Information

What to expect:
- Fulltime position (40 hours a week)
- Housing arranged
- Flight Tickets arranged
- Transport to work arranged
- Gaining experience in a agricultural production lab.

✅ Only EU students with an Erasmus+ scholarship are eligible to apply.

✅ The internship duration is mandatory: 6 months.

✅ Please submit your application with an English CV.