At the University of Groningen a new ambitious programme has been developed, called Adaptive Life. Adaptation is a characteristic phenomenon of all living systems and crucial in a changing world. The Adaptive Life programme aims at studying adaptation by integrating mechanistic, e.g. physiological and developmental, perspectives with ecological and evolutionary approaches. To make this program a success two institutes, the Centre for Behavioural Neurosciences and the Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, recently merged to form the Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES). In addition, two competence centers have been established to extend connections with societal partners: the Sustainable Landscape Competence Centre and the Brain and Behaviour Competence Centre. The programme will receive an investment of over 10 million euros for the next five years from the University of Groningen and the theme Adaptive Life is now one of the four focus areas of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. The kick-off meeting of the institute and its new programme is on April 22, 2015 in Groningen, The Netherlands. Participation is free but registration is required. For the full programme and further information see www.rug.nl/gelifes-symposium or contact [email protected].
