Emilio Villar Alegria, M.Sc.

Attending the World Wheat Congress in Bologna was a great experience and a timely one. It was my second time at this congress, but this edition felt different because I travelled with my whole group, instead of alone with my supervisor all the way to Australia, as the previous time. As I am now in the final stage of my PhD, it was also a valuable moment to share the experience with my team and think about where my work fits in the wider wheat-research community.

What stood out most to me was the congress’s international reach. Most conferences I have attended were mainly European, so it was refreshing to hear what is being done across the world. The programme also gave space to work from public international research centres and from researchers in developing countries. That broader perspective made the discussions feel especially relevant: wheat research is connected to very different farming systems, needs and realities.

The trip was particularly useful for networking. With the PhD coming to an end, I have started to look more seriously at what might come next, and Bologna was a good place to meet potential groups and get a sense of possible directions. I spoke with Australian researchers working on closely related topics, and they invited me to explore collaboration and potentially visit their group. It was encouraging to see that there are clear points of connection between my work and research happening elsewhere.

The breadth of the congress was honestly quite humbling. Even after a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, time in industry and almost a PhD, I was reminded how much there is yet to learn about wheat. In-depth presentations about wheat genetics, diseases and post-harvest research made me feel a bit ignorant, as they seemed essential parts of the bigger picture that I feel I should already know. Rather than being discouraging, it was a good reminder to stay curious and keep building a more complete understanding of the crop.

Bologna itself added a lot to the experience. It was extremely warm, but the city was lively and welcoming, with a festival happening at the same time and plenty of cultural activity in the streets. Its porticoes give it a very distinctive character: you can keep walking while escaping either the strong sun or the rain. As the home of what we were told that was the first university in the Western world, it also has a very young energy, with students filling the bars and streets. And, of course, the food was excellent. Bologna had never been on my travel list a priori, so it was a nice reminder that this type of work trips can open up places and people we might not otherwise encounter.

I am very grateful for IZ LIST’s support. Without this travel grant, attending the congress might not have been possible, as the funding of my PhD scholarship was coming to an end. This support made it possible to take part in an important scientific exchange, strengthen my network at a key point in my PhD, and return with new ideas for the next stage.