• How shall we empower our people, they asked?

  • Advancing Skills

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Some comments by attendees:

“My participation in the Tree Breeding Course at SA was a highly enriching and memorable professional experience. The program provided me an excellent platform to enhance my understanding of advanced tree improvement strategies, breeding methodologies, and modern approaches in genetic resource management. The exposure to scientific discussions, practical demonstrations, and interactions with experienced scientists and fellow participants greatly strengthened my technical knowledge and broadened my perspective on forest genetics and plantation development. The course also offered valuable opportunities for networking, exchange of ideas, and learning diverse breeding approaches followed in different regions and institutions. The collaborative learning environment made the experience intellectually stimulating as well as personally rewarding. I cherish the memories and knowledge gained during this training, which continue to influence my current research and breeding activities. ….The experience remains one of the most impactful milestones in my professional career.”

Past course participant, feedback received in 2026

“I thoroughly enjoyed the course and found it most valuable. The course equips the entry-level tree breeder with an understanding of all the key principles. The notes are comprehensive, and all presenters were excellent and knowledgeable.”- 2024
“I can’t think of anything I could recommend to change the course. I am very satisfied with how everything was planned and executed. I gained information that would’ve taken years to be aware of. The line of presenters we had were all industry experts, and it was truly inspiring and eye-opening, and most importantly, interactive throughout the course.”- 2024
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• Mentorship programs in breeding and analysis​

• Post- graduate (PhD) assistance & promotion​​

• Courses in Breeding​

Some comments by attendees:

2015: “The diversity of people was very interesting. I met a lot of people and your ideas inspired me. And I enjoyed the wine on Wednesday.”

2015: “Would you recommend the course?: Definitely. Well done on an excellent course! Very relevant and comprehensive. Looking forward to the next one.

2015: “Would you recommend the course?: Definitely. I would highly recommend this course to everyone who needs to know something about breeding. Very intellectually stimulating and well presented.”

2015: “Extremely helpful for my day to day work. A well rounded course that packs a lot into a very short space of time.

2017: “My initial understanding of quantitative genetics has been broadened”

2017: “Breeding Strategies was a highlight for me”

2017: “It was a very informative course, more especially for foresters”

2017: “Course was good, guest lecturers as well. But mostly you give good lectures always capturing our attention. I liked how the course progressed and how it was structured.”

2019: “The training was very informative especially with the current changing climate. There is a possibility of breeding varieties that can adapt to the rapidly changing climate.”

2019: “The course was amazing and very informative.”

2019: ”The course is very informative and will go a long way in improving Tree Improvement strategies within the continent.”

2019: “It is a good course, I will advise everyone who is in forestry to do it.”

2019: “ All aspects of tree breeding were well linked.  However, it was a lot to take in in one week but it is an excellent course.”

2019: “This course gives a broad ideas of study topics to understand better, especially fields that are not your speciality.”

2019: “Steve thanks for listening to all our comments without making us feel inferior and thanks for answering all our questions.”

2019: “The course was good and understandable.”

2019: “Field course: Excellent.  Could see different stages of pollen & how to handle the pollen.”

2019: “Field course: Thank you to the team for sharing your knowledge with us. I learned a lot. It was very interesting.”

2019: “Field course: Recommended for researchers especially at the earliest stages of employment.”

2019: “Field course: Overall a very informative course.”

2020 – “I really enjoyed the training. I was very happy to be trained with experienced people in genetics. Though most of the topics seem to be complicated but you make it as simple as possible.  I am looking forward to attend more courses from your institution”·

2020 – “Help me to understand concepts better, I have done this previously but failed to understand concepts clearly. Now I understand the concept very well”

2020 – “Help me to understand concepts better, I have done this previously but failed to understand concepts clearly. Now I understand the concept very well”
“The overall rate of the course is 5*, so thanks!”
2020 – “This course has made me a better tree breeder than I was on Monday morning”

“The course made great impact in understanding more about tree breeding” – 2022

“In general the course content was interesting and an eye opener. It is up to us to apply the knowledge in our workplace”-2022

“I thoroughly enjoyed the course and found it most valuable. The course equips the entry-level tree breeder with an understanding of all the key principles. The notes are comprehensive, and all presenters were excellent and knowledgeable.”- 2024
“I can’t think of anything I could recommend to change the course. I am very satisfied with how everything was planned and executed. I gained information that would’ve taken years to be aware of. The line of presenters we had were all industry experts, and it was truly inspiring and eye-opening, and most importantly, interactive throughout the course.”- 2024
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Some of the courses presented include:​

2024 – Verryn, S. D. (ed.) (2024). An Introduction to Modern Tree Breeding. Pretoria, Creation Breeding Innovations.

2022 – Verryn, S. D. (ed.) (2022). An Introduction to Modern Tree Breeding. Pretoria, Creation Breeding Innovations.

2021 – Verryn, S.D. and C.L. Snedden. An Introduction to Breeding Strategies & Trial Design for Tree Improvement. Online. Creation Breeding Innovations, Pretoria, South Africa.

2020 – Verryn, S.D. and Snedden, C.L. An Introduction to Quantitative Genetics. Online. Creation Breeding Innovations.

2019 – Verryn, S. D. (ed.) (2019). An Introduction to Modern Tree Breeding. Pretoria, Creation Breeding Innovations.

2017 – Verryn, S. D. (ed.) (2017). An Introduction to Modern Tree Breeding.
Pretoria, Creation Breeding Innovations. ​

2015 – Verryn, S., V. Grzeskowiak, et al. (2015). An Introduction to Modern Tree
Breeding. Pretoria, Creation Breeding Innovations.​

2005 – Hettasch, M.H., Lunt, K.A., Pierce, B.T., Snedden, C.L., Steyn, D.J.,
Venter, H.M. and Verryn, S.D.2005. Tree Improvement Course For Managers,
presented in Australia. ​

2005 – Hettasch, M.H., Lunt, K.A., Pierce, B.T., Snedden, C.L., Steyn, D.J., Venter, H.M. and
Verryn, S.D.2005. Tree Breeding Short Course.​

2004 – M. H. Hettasch, C. L. Snedden, Lunt K., B. T. Pierce, and S. D. Verryn 2004.
Practical Data Analysis Tools for Tree Breeders Manual., Pretoria, South
Africa: Environmentek, CSIR. (South Africa)​

2003 – M. H. Hettasch, C. L. Snedden, Lunt K., B. T. Pierce, and S. D. Verryn 2003.
Practical Data Analysis Tools for Tree Breeders Manual., Pretoria, South
Africa: Environmentek, CSIR. (Portugal)​

2001 – Verryn, S. D., Hettasch, M. H., and Pierce, B. T. 2001. Tree Breeding Techniques
Course Manual. In: CSIR, Pretoria. ​

1991 to 2000 – Verryn, S. D., Hettasch, M. H., Pierce, B. T., Snedden, C. L., and Steyn, D.
J. 2000. Specialist Eucalypt Breeding Techniques Course Manual. CSIR,
Pretoria.​(This series of courses in tree breeding has attracted over 100
participants from a total of over 30 different countries since 1991.) ​

1996 – Verryn, S. D. 22-1-1996. Introduction to Best Linear Prediction (BLP). CSIR,
Pretoria. 98pp.​

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