Durban, South Africa: 24-26 February 2025: ICGEB Cape Town and Durban University of Technology (DUT) host the Computational and Systems Biology Workshop 2025, in partnership with the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation, as part of the ICGEB Special Programme with South African HDIs.
The aim of the workshop organised by Dr Saheed Sabiu (DUT) and Dr Stefano Cacciatore (ICGEB Cape Town) was to provide participants with knowledge and appreciation of computational and systems biology (CSB) workflows and subfields, while providing them the opportunity to interact, network, forge new collaborations, present and discuss various CSB-based research findings. The workshop was also designed to allow participants to share innovative research ideas to facilitate collaboration opportunities as well as train the next generation of scientists within the niche of computational and systems biology.
Attended by 115 delegates, majority from South African tertiary institutions, the presentation sessions provided opportunities to discuss and exchange ideas on the latest trends in the field of bioinformatics and specifically in computational and systems biology. In addition, the hands-on training sessions facilitated knowledge transfer and human capacity development, especially for the postgraduate students and emerging scholars.
The workshop also facilitated new collaborative and networking opportunities among the delegates as well as the organisers and scientific faculty. Such collaborations and partnerships are envisaged to culminate in high impact publications, possible student exchange opportunities, as well as joint proposal and grant writing. The joint organisation of the workshop by ICGEB and DUT supported by the ICGEB Special HDI Programme has paved the way for a promising collaborative partnership in research and capacity building engagements.
The impact of knowledge transfer and human capacity development derived from the workshop cannot be over emphasized. The workshop particularly allowed for learning of command lines and other related skills which provided a solid base upon which further bioinformatics skills within the niche of computational and systems biology can be developed. The relevance of such skills is timely and will contribute towards application and appreciation of “Artificial Intelligence” and “The Next Generations of Industrial Revolution” agenda, which are one of the needs of the hour in South Africa – Dr Saheed Sabiu
