General information

NEMATODES
Nematodes are everywhere. They are among the most harmful organisms of crops, especially in the tropics but, on the other hand, they can be used as natural antagonists in bio-control programmes against pest insects. Because of their ubiquitous presence, overwhelming densities and diversity (sometimes compared to insects) free-living nematodes are an ideal tool for biodiversity studies. They are used as bio-indicators of pollution in both terrestrial and aquatic environments.

EUMAINE
The European Master of Science in Nematology (EUMAINE) is one of the Erasmus Mundus Master courses. The EUMAINE programme brings together some of the European leading Universities and Research Institutes active in Nematology and is offered by a network of 8 partners, consisting of 4 consortium partners and 4 supporting or satellite partners. Ghent University is the coordinating university.

The consortium partners are :
• Universiteit Gent, Belgium : coordinator
• Universität Bielefeld, Germany
• Universidade de Evora, Portugal
• Universidad de Jaén, Spain

The satellite partners are:
• Christian-Albrechts Universität, Kiel, Germany
• Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
• James Hutton Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee, UK
• Wageningen Universiteit , The Netherlands
• Plant Protection Service, Wageningen, The Netherlands
• Institute for Agriculture and Fisheries Research, Merelbeke, Belgium

AIM
The aim of the course is to train students to become highly qualified nematologists with multidisciplinary knowledge in the diverse fields of Nematology through mobility to different Universities within Europe and with a well-integrated language and cultural experience.
The programme deals with fundamental as well as applied aspects of Nematology and concerns different groups of nematodes in all possible environments: natural soils, agricultural soils, aquatic sediments of freshwater, brackish or marine habitats, temperate and tropical regions.