Tag: training

2025 Summer School in Biodiversity Modelling

Posted by on in Intensive classe, Training events

The 2025 edition Summer School in Biodiversity Modelling will be on the theme “Coding biodiversity: building scenarios with a global ecosystem model“. This year hosted at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, the School will provide an opportunity to further your knowledge of Biodiversity Modelling, in an informal and friendly atmosphere.

Photo by Darren Tierney on Unsplash

It has been proposed that general ecosystem models could inform policy decisions and improve our understanding of biodiversity and its functioning. Developing such models is however a daunting task that could only be achieved in team. The general objective of this edition of the Summer School in biodiversity modelling will be to investigate the joint effects of biodiversity changes and climate change on ecosystem functioning using a custom version of the Madingley model. Students will learn how to collaborate in a complex coding problem with an inter-disciplinary team, and we encourage people with diverse backgrounds to apply and compose these inter-disciplinary teams.

Prerequisites

For all applicants:

  • Minimum intermediate proficiency level in English; proficiency in French is an asset (listening and speaking)
  • Eligible to study in Canada (i.e., have the appropriate visa or be exempt from this requirement to enrol on a University course)

For applicants focused on developing biodiversity models:

  • Basic knowledge of biodiversity modelling
  • Upper-intermediate level of knowledge in scientific programming (the program will have a focus on R language, but you can use the language of your choice)
  • Familiarity with version control systems (we’ll provide advanced training)

For applicants focused on communicating biodiversity models:

  • Familiarity with biodiversity topics
  • Skills in data visualization, and/or communication and outreach in different media
Date: August 18 to 22, 2025
Location: University of British Columbia, Vancouver - BC
Registration fee: 600$ (without accommodation) or 950$ (with accommodation)
Price includes course registration and meals. Members of certain programs or associations may be eligible for financial assistance to attend the event.

Registration

Anyone interested in taking part in the summer school must complete this form by June 15, 2025. Official registration (admission and payment of registration fees) will take place during the week of June 30, 2025.

More information and registration: https://www.usherbrooke.ca/ecoles-de-pointe/en/biology/2025-biodiversity-modelling

Workshop R and Git: from code to collaboration

Posted by on in Led by fellows, Training events, Training Session

BIOS2 is holding a one-day workshop on programming and version control for data science and research. Our newly Certified Carpentries Instructors Francis Banville and Gabriel Dansereau will be giving an introduction to the Tidyverse, a collection of R packages for data manipulation and visualisation. They will also introduce Git, a collaboration and version control tool useful for research work. The lessons covered will be inspired by those developed by The Carpentries (Data Analysis and Visualization in R for Ecologists and Version Control with Git).

The workshop is free and will take place in person at the Campus MIL of University of Montreal (with snacks!) and the language of instruction will be French. We have a very limited number of places, so register early!

You must have R and RStudio and Git Bash installed before the workshop. If you need help with installation, please email Francis or Gabriel, or arrive 60-30 minutes before the workshop starts.

What: Workshop on R (Tidyverse) and Git
When: Saturday 18 January from 9:00 to 17:00 ET
Where: Campus MIL (Université de Montréal), room B-2061
Contacts: Francis Banville (francis.banville [at] umontreal.ca) and Gabriel Dansereau (gabriel.dansereau [at] umontreal.ca)

Registration form:

Dealing with spatial data in R – workshop

Posted by on in Led by fellows, Training events, Training Session

The first workshop of the 2024-2025 calendar will be about spatial data analysis, and registrations are now open! Perfect for researchers and data analysts with a foundational understanding of R, this workshop will cover Google Colab, reproducible workflows, biodiversity and spatial data sets available online, shapefile and raster operations, and Google Earth Engine (GEE) integration. You should have access to Google Suite applications like Google Drive and Google Colab via an email account to participate. The workshop instructors are Lionel Leston (University of Alberta) and Mobina Gholamhosseini (Université de Montréal).

Registration Details

Date: September 17th, 19th, 24th and 26th, 2024
Time: 10 am PT / 1 pm PT
Venue: Online (Zoom and Google Colab)
Registrations: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUkdOmsqT4vGNTLsbPoZIezkRH2x6Vhc8zJ

Registrations are free and open to everyone, but seats are limited. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at pgm_bios2 [at] usherbrooke.ca.

Open Reviewers Workshop

Posted by on in Blog, Led by fellows, Training events, Training Session

In July, BIOS2 will host a 2-hour workshop on open peer review, hosted by our fellow Allegra Spensieri. Allegra has been selected as a PREreview Champion and is now bringing to our community the principles of a fair and open peer review, with the support of PREreview.

PREreview is an organization that develops infrastructure to support the pre-print peer review process from start to end. They develop and provide training on how to write helpful reviews for preprints, and have built a platform to submit preprint reviews on, as well as a community of researchers. The open reviewers workshop is a training program that PREreview has designed for researchers at all levels to learn how to write equitable peer reviews.

This 2-hour workshop will focus on the basics of open, preprint peer reviewing and becoming aware of biases in peer review. Registrations are free and open to everyone, but seats are limited.

When: July 10th, 2024 – 1pm EST
Where: Online
Registrations: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIoce6tqz0vGtdpZPVtuBKMpLyxjR9WvqjN

Structural Equation Modelling – training

Posted by on in Led by fellows, Non classé, Training events, Training Session

We are pleased to announce our forthcoming workshop on Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), scheduled to take place from April 8th to 10th, 2024, from 10 am – 1 pm PT / 1 pm – 4 pm ET. This course offers a comprehensive exploration of SEM, delving into its theoretical underpinnings and practical applications. Participants will gain a profound understanding of causal modelling, latent variables, and the nuances of covariance-based and Partial Least Squares (PLS) SEM methodologies. Through in-depth instruction, attendees will learn to leverage prominent software tools to conduct sophisticated analyses of complex datasets. Covering conventions, terminology, model specification, and evaluation, this course equips professionals and researchers with the essential skills to navigate SEM effectively.

The training will be conducted by our fellow Varina Crisfield, an awarded PhD candidate in Key Biodiversity Areas at the Université de Sherbrooke. The workshop will be hosted virtually, and access information will be sent out to registered participants one day before the event.

To apply, please fill out this form by April 4th, 2024: https://forms.office.com/r/1dEg09Qhn0

Introductory workshop to Python

Posted by on in Intensive classe, Training Session

The BIOS² training program offers an Introductory workshop to Python for R users. The workshop will be presented on May 15 and 16, 2023 by Vincent Beauregard, data specialist at Biodiversité Québec.

The course aims to provide the basics of Python and to familiarize participants with the tools and libraries relevant to computational ecology. Sessions will build on participants’ prior knowledge of the R language to facilitate learning. Topics will include data manipulation with Pandas, data visualization with Matplotlib, and data analysis with Numpy and Scipy. Students will also learn how to break their code into functions and work with classes in Python.

The workshop is offered in preparation for the Advanced Field School in Computational Ecology, but is open to all members of the BIOS2 program and any other interested individuals.

Instructor

Vincent Beauregard is a technical coordinator, and a specialist in infrastructure, biodiversity data interfaces and spatial data from remote sensing at Biodiversité Québec. He is interested in the automation of data processing schemes.

What: Introductory workshop to Python
When: May 15 and 16, 2023 @ 1 pm – 4 pm (your time here)
Where: Online and at Université Laval
Language: English (bilingual Q&A and discussion)
Fees: free – offered only for participants of the Advanced Field School in Computational Ecology.
Registration deadline: May 11, 2023
Registration link: https://forms.office.com/r/kWvCrdpbus