Sydney-CUHK SDGs Symposium: Soil Health & Sustainability

The University of Sydney (USYD) and The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) are strategic partners and both have a strong commitment to addressing society’s greatest challenges and advancing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To achieve this shared aspiration, a SDG-themed workshop titled “Partnership for Zero Hunger and Response to Climate Change” was held in May 2022 to explore collaborations in tackling food security and climate change and promoting sustainable agriculture.

Following the success of the workshop, researchers of CUHK and UYSD have formed several working groups to develop specific areas of interest. One of these working groups focuses on Soil Health and is led by Professor Jerome Hui of the School of Life Sciences at CUHK and Professor Budiman Minasny of the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at USYD. To understand the strengths of the two institutions and create synergy to catalyse collaboration, a virtual symposium titled “Soil Health and Sustainability” will be held on Monday, 28 November at 12:00 – 14:00 HKT/15:00 – 17:00 AEDT for researchers to share their research and discuss collaboration opportunities. Topics coved include Plant-Microbes Interaction; Soil Microbial Diversity; Macrofauna in Soil; Soil and Climate Change; and Emerging Technologies for Studying Soil Genomics.

This symposium will be beneficial to those who would like to take advantage of international opportunities and is particularly relevant to early career researchers who are keen to develop their global network.

Speakers

1. Soybean-Rhizobium Interactions

Prof. Hon Ming Lam, Director, State Kay Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, CUHK

2. Soil Carbon – Much more than Soil Health

Prof. Budiman Minasny, Professor in Soil-Landscape Modelling, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, USYD

3. Soil-Climate Interactions

Prof. Derrick Lai, Associate Professor, Dept of Geography & Resource Management, CUHK

4. Mapping Soil Microbial Biodiversity in Australia

Dr. Mercedes Roman Dobarco, Postdoctoral Research Associate, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, USYD

5. Soil Macrofauna & Genomics

Prof. Jerome Hui, Associate Professor, School of Life Sciences, CUHK

6. Understanding Soil Microbes of New South Wales: Interactions to Land Use & Environments

Dr. Vanessa Pino Villavicencio, Postdoctoral Research Associate, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, USYD

7. Roles of Earthworms on Soil Health

Dr. Michelle Law, Lecturer, School of Life Sciences, CUHK

8. Land-use & Soil Forms Regulate Microbial Communities along Soil Profiles

Dr. Katherine Xue, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Soil Viral Diversity, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, USYD

9. Bioinformatics Tools for Studying Soil Genomics

Prof. T.F. Chan, Associate Professor, School of Life Sciences, CUHK

RSVP

Please register online. A detailed program and a Zoom meeting invite will follow your registration.

By registering your participation and attending, you give consent to the recording of the virtual event.