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16 January 2009
14-16 January, 2009 saw the launch of the inaugural regional training
workshop for the NEPAD Southern Africa Network for Biosciences
(SANBio). The three-day workshop which drew participants from
universities and research institutes from Botswana, Malawi, Mauritius,
Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe
was hosted by the Bioinformatics Centre, University of Pretoria. The
principle objective of the workshop was to create capacity for research
and collaboration in bioinformatics throughout the SADC region.
In welcoming the participants,
SANBio Network Director, Prof
Luke Mumba, said, “given the
importance of bioinformatics
tools in analysing and understanding
biological data, it was
imperative that academic and
research institutions in the region
are at the cutting-edge of the
science and become in line with
other countries”.
He challenged the participants to explore how bioinformatics can be
introduced in university curricula in the region and how it can be
integrated in research projects in priority areas of health, environment and
agriculture. Key outcomes of the workshop will be a regional network
and a project proposal to promote bioinformatics in Southern Africa.
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