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Pathways towards biocuration: an African perspective for supporting biocuration within LMICs

Date: TBA

Organised by: Dr ThankGod Ebenezer

Overview:

This knowledge exchange workshop is an opportunity for established and aspiring biocurators to learn from one another and from biocuration leads from EMBL-EBI's services teams and African biodata platforms. Biocuration plays an essential role in enabling and maintaining research in the life sciences. The landscape in these fields is constantly evolving as new research tendencies and data quality and management necessities derive from them. Biological research has become increasingly data-intensive, and as their users – experimental and in-silico researchers – have become more exposed to the power of data-driven biology, which heavily relies on accessible, high quality data.

This course will allow participants to share experiences, discuss challenges and solutions that they face, and plan ways to cope with the ever-changing demands raised by the molecular life science field. There will be sessions to learn from biocuration service providers, hear how others have tackled common problems, and work together to identify common needs and pathways towards improved biocuration services and progression as a biocurator.

Objectives:

  1. Navigate the African landscape within biocuration to better support regional communities in collaboration with global platforms
  2. Incorporate leading and upcoming biocurators to wider initiatives to support biocuration within the life sciences
  3. Share and contribute local expertise with the wider community to better understand an LMICs perspective and support other communities

Learning Outcomes:

After this course you should be able to:

  1. Understand the mapping of biocuration resource landscape in Africa
  2. List the key barriers to delivery and use of biocuration resources in Africa
  3. Raise awareness of the breadth of the EMBL-EBI biocurations resources and their value to data-driven biology across the globe
  4. Define areas of synergy and opportunities that exist between biocurations resources at the EMBL-EBI and Africa, and identify where EMBL-EBI and African institutions/scientists are best placed to act

Target Audience:

Established and aspiring biocurators within the life sciences. This workshop is aimed at both new and experienced biocurators, or other professionals taking part or influencing the biocuration process.

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites in terms of technical skills for this workshop as it is heavily focused on soft skills and regional perspectives. We will partially follow a working meeting type of format, thus an openness to discussion is highly encouraged. NB for participants to bring thier own laptops

Capacity: 30

Waiting List

*Signing up for the waiting list will provide you with a notification when the selected workshop(s) open for registration. Only workshop applicants who have completed registration will be considered.