Plant breeding has made incredible contributions to crop improvement for plant productivity and end-use traits. There is a critical need of training/educating plant breeders who can effectively utilize the wonderful developments in genetics and other related areas of science, as well as effectively phenotype plants under real plant environments for efficient crop improvement. This symposium will recognize the breadth of current training approaches, new initiatives, suggest most innovative and effective methodologies to prepare graduates for the future and engage industry collaborations in the education process, and explore plant breeding as a natural conduit between science and the public.