PhD in Israel - for real..?

Today I visited the experimental farm Newe Ya'ar in Ramat Yishay, only 5 minutes from Tivon. Newe Ya'ar belongs to the Volcani Centre in Bet Dagan, which is the head quarter of The Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), the research arm of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Israel. I had a meeting with the head of the facility and she was very impressed with my CV and my MSc thesis, which I had sent her previously, and they have already started to overview what possibilities they have to offer me a project. When I explained that I might be able to pull out a full PhD scholarship from Copenhagen University she was already shining like the sun on the Israeli sky and there was not much more to say than that we will try to exploit all options available to make this happen.

I also got a tour around the facilities that looked no less than how I was imagining the optimal conditions in my dreams about the future. A very familiar and quiet feeling, with research fields and greenhouses and a fully equipped molecular lab, even with their own DNA sequencing machine, and everything imbedded in the most beautiful green scenery. There are merely around 25 researchers and about 70 staff members in total. After having commuting during 6 years, 90 minutes door-to-door, to a huge and busy university, it is extremely appealing for me to find my spot in a small facility, so close to home.

Now we just have to raise the money! The story of our lives...