CURRICULUM
Green text reading 'Plant Futures Challenge Lab' with a star-shaped sparkle at the end.
Digital collage of virtual meetings featuring multiple people on screens, surrounded by illustrations of fresh vegetables and fruits.

The Plant Futures Challenge Lab is a unique university course that equips students with applied learning experiences in the plant-based food and agriculture sectors.

Become a Partner
Register as a Student

Students (undergraduate to PhD) are paired with organizations based on their skills, passions, and experiences and work to address the real-time needs of these organizations while gaining invaluable real-world experience.

Meet Our Instructors:

Miyoko Schinner is a pioneering vegan entrepreneur and cheesemaker who revolutionized the plant-based industry by founding Miyoko's Creamery. A bestselling author and advocate, she has dedicated her career to promoting a more compassionate and gourmet food system.

Two women smiling, with name tags reading Miyoko Schinner and Brittany Sartor, standing against a black background.

Brittany Sartor, Plant Futures Co-founder, leverages her background in food systems to develop educational programs and experiential learning opportunities. Through her work with the Challenge Lab and curriculum, she plays a pivotal role in equipping students with the skills and networks needed to drive positive change in the food sector.

Some of our part partners include:

A bright red heart-shaped logo with the words 'UPSIDE Foods' in white, stylized font.
Fair Trade USA logo featuring a stylized black mug with a straw on a green circle background and the text 'Fair Trade USA' beneath.
Proveg International logo with a green leaf and plant icon beside the text.
Sundial Foods logo featuring a stylized yellow and black eye with the name 'sundial foods' in yellow below.
Eat meat logo with a stylized cow and pig graphic.
Logo for Beyond Meat featuring a green circle with a cow inside and the company name below
Sun World logo featuring an orange and green design
Plant-based Foods Association logo featuring three green leaves above the organization name.
Green circle with a white stylized plant or leaf inside, and text below that reads 'transformation' in black and 'farm' in green.
Tofurky logo with text 'Tofurky' in black on a white background
Logo for Califia Farms featuring a stylized woman's face with floral elements in her hair and the company name beneath
Black sneaker with white sole and white logo on side
GlassWall Syndicate logo with blue geometric icon and black text.
Astanor logo with the tagline 'Where tech meets nature'
Text that reads 'lazy food' in simple black font on a white background.
Finless Foods logo with the word 'Finless' in teal and 'FOODS' in smaller teal font underneath.
Light blue circle with white text that reads 'blue horizon'.
Logo for New Crop Capital with stylized geometric icon above the text
Logo with the word 'MISTA' and a stylized yellow and gray dandelion flower with a dotted orbit
Logo for Diet ID with a tagline 'Diet is a Vital Sign' and a heartbeat line
Logo with green circle background and white and green text that reads 'bel for all for good'
CJ CHEILJEDANG logo with colorful droplets
Voyage logo on a white background
Cal Dining logo with stylized orange illustration.

…and more

Logo for the TV show "Once Upon a Farm" with stylized text and a barn atop the letter 'O'
Beeflow logo with a stylized bee icon and the slogan 'Smart Pollination'.
Black and white drawing of a person skateboarding on a ramp with a cityscape background.
Colorful illustration of vegetables forming a circular design around the words 'Moon Valley Farm'.
Logo for Plant Based Foods Institute featuring a stylized leaf design in green and yellow.
A logo with a stylized leaf and flame icon, the word 'aromyx' in bold black font, and the tagline 'Perception Defined' below.
The Friends of the Earth logo, featuring a green circle with a small break at the top and the organization's name written below.
Logo for Daily Harvest featuring a stylized mountain inside a rectangle with the brand name below
Logo of Miyoko's Creamery, Sonoma, California
Daya logo with green apple and the phrase 'deliciously sharing food' underneath
Huneus Vintners logo with the words 'Huneus Vintners' in plain font
Elevated Foods logo with a stylized circular emblem and the company name in blue text.
Amy's logo in green text.
Logo for the Better Food Foundation with the word 'Better' in script and 'FOOD' in bold, accompanied by 'FOUNDATION' at the bottom.

Students

Meet Our Students

Plant Futures Challenge Lab students have represented over 45+ disciplines, including: 

  • Business

  • Engineering

  • Policy

  • Public Health

  • Social Science

  • Data Science

  • Biology

  • Media Studies

  • Environmental Studies

  • Nutrition

  • Education

  • Bioengineering

  • Social Welfare

  • And More!

Through a careful application process, working closely with recommendation from faculty advisors and student ambassadors, Plant Futures invites the most talented and motivated cohort of students with a variety of skill sets, experiences, expertise, and the passion to work with our partners.

Both students and Challenge Lab mentors consistently report the interdisciplinary design of the course to be one of the most valuable components of their Challenge Lab experience.

Four young adults smiling, two women and two men, standing close together in casual attire, with colorful background accents.

Student Testimonials

  • "The Plant Futures Challenge Lab has pushed me beyond my comfort zone unlike any other course! The intimate collaboration with individuals of varying backgrounds and expertise is the exact interdisciplinary experience I seek in my MPH education. There's creativity, mental conditioning, and endless opportunities to expand your personal and professional network. Plant Futures has given me the chance to be at the forefront of sustainable food systems innovation and entrepreneurship - a driving force in public health transformation."

    Kassandra Bacon
    Mater of Public Health Candidate

  • "This was an awesome exercise in product development, innovation and communication. It will definitely be a foundational experience for me to keep practicing designing innovative food products that promote planetary health."

    Aga Gugala
    MBA Candidate

  • "The Plant Futures Challenge Lab is not just a class... It's an incubator for future plant-based food system entrepreneurs and change-makers…For me, being part of this course has been eye-opening and has provided me a valuable opportunity to work with a leading business partner like Califia in designing with our team a line of products that they might consider adding to their company's product portfolio. I would highly recommend this course to any graduate student like myself who is interested in exploring possible career alternatives in the business plant-forward world."

    Bestsabe Castro
    PhD Integrative Biology Candidate

Challenge Lab Case Studies

Cover page of a report titled 'Califa Farms Plant Futures Challenge Lab Case Study' featuring an orchard with rows of trees and logos of Califa Farms and Plant Futures.
Hand reaching for leaves in a plant nursery, with an overlay displaying logos of New Crop Capital and Plant Futures, and text about a case study for Plant Futures Challenge Lab.
Cover page for the Blue Horizon Plant Futures Challenge Lab Case Study, featuring hands holding small potted plants, with a blue and green color theme and the text 'blue horizon' and 'plant futures'.

Mentor Testimonials

  • "Amy’s Kitchen gained valuable insights from the students of the Plant Futures Program. We value academic business partnerships as it’s mutually beneficial and very rewarding. Our students conducted research and surveyed over 500 of their peers, to help us better understand the best ways to communicate the environmental and nutritional impact of our vegetarian and plant-based foods".

    Stacia Betley
    Sustainability Integration Manager
    Amy’s Kitchen

  • “It was a pleasure working with the plant futures team on a project of area exploration for our brand. The team did their research and came up with well thought out ideas and suggestions. Many of those we took to then explore further after the project was finished. What I loved most was the energy, enthusiasm, and outside the box ideas that come from those just starting their careers!"

    Katie Marston
    CMO
    Once Upon a Farm

  • "Our participation in this course was extremely rewarding. The students were bright, insightful, and dedicated, and made contributions of real value to our team. Can we do this again? Sign us up!"

    David L. Katz
    CEO
    Diet ID

  • "Plant Futures allowed me to immediately plug into a group of exceptionally bright, mission-driven students for a strategic analytical project benefitting my organization and the greater alternative protein ecosystem. The structure and programming of the course allowed me to focus on core project work without the hassle of recruitment. It felt great to provide a mentorship opportunity to students while also receiving a valuable business deliverable"

    Nate Crosser
    Principal
    Blue Horizon

Challenge Lab Impact at a Glance

375

Students since 2021

98%

reported that they feel motivated and equipped to work in the plant-centric food sector

82

Professional Partners in the last six semesters

99%

reported that the Challenge Lab enabled them to develop multiple relevant connections within the plant-centric food sector

61%

of Challenge Lab participants reported that the course inspired them to shift to a more plant-centric diet

90%

of participants have influenced friends and family to eat a more plant-centric diet since the course

Get Involved

→

Get Involved →

Take the first step towards creating a diverse, multi-disciplinary talent pipeline for the global plant-rich food and agriculture sectors.

Students →
Professional Partners →