Workshops

Here is the listing of workshops to be organised in connection to our conference. More information will be gradually added on these workshops. Workshops are organized by the EBR III organizing partners.

Workshop 1: Hacking biodiversity data cubes for policy

organized by Building Blocks for Biodiversity

B-Cubed’s hackathon is planned as a 4-day event, bringing together biodiversity informaticians, researchers, and practitioners who are passionate about leveraging biodiversity data for impactful solutions. Our common goal is to standardise biodiversity data in order to enhance efficiency and accessibility. The main idea is to experiment with data cubes and channel creativity into innovative solutions for a variety of biodiversity challenges.

We strongly encourage students to participate, bringing their fresh perspectives and knowledge to engage with data cubes and connect with leading experts in the field. The international B-Cubed hackathon is your opportunity to push boundaries and experiment with data cubes, while tackling an array of challenges.

More information: B cubed hackaton

Date: April 2-5
Time : 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Location : VAC Herman Teirlinck; Havenlaan 88, 1000 Brussel
Room: room TBC
Number of participants: max 100
Cost: 60 € General admission, 12 € Student rate, 12 € Virtual registration
Lunch offered: yes
Registration: register

Workshop 2: Data publishing workshop on Zenodo and GBIF

organized by INBO (Dimitri Brosens & Lien Reyserhove)

This one day workshop focuses on optimizing data visibility through either Zenodo or the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). Participants will delve into the features of Zenodo for seamless dataset sharing and discover the steps to publish datasets effectively on GBIF. Through hands-on exercises, attendees will gain practical skills to enhance the reach and impact of their research, aligning with the principles of open science and collaborative data dissemination.

The workshop underscores the principles of open science and collaborative data dissemination, positioning itself as a foundational experience for researchers new to data publication on both Zenodo and/or GBIF.

Date: June 7th
Time : 10:00 am - 16:30 pm
Location : VAC Herman Teirlinck; Havenlaan 88, 1000 Brussel Room: room 00.48 Keldermans
Number of participants: max 15
Cost: FREE
Lunch offered: yes
Registration: Here

Workshop 3: NLBIF Data Mobilization workshop

organized by NLBIF (Niels Raes & Jeroen Creuwels)

A day’s practical workshop on how to publish your biodiversity data via GBIF. Everyday a million new records are published at GBIF. In this workshop we see how we can attribute to get more biodiversity available. For this we will use the NLBIF-IPT and the biodiversity data standard DarwinCore.

In the morning we discuss the minimum requirements that the data must meet, and which metadata are required that describe the dataset. We will also show how to transform your data in the right format and how to overcome the obstacles with more complicated datasets. Finally, we show the options and benefits when the data is published at GBIF.

In the afternoon we will work with concrete datasets that participants bring along. Aided by a newly-written manual for this workshop, we try to get datasets actually published with GBIF by the end of the day.

Date: Fall 2024
Time: 1 day
Location: Naturalis Biodiversity Center
Number of participants: max 20
Cost: Feee to attend
Lunch: At own cost
Registration: Not available yet

Workshop 4: GRSciColl & Scientific Collections Description workshop

Organized by the Belgian Biodiversity Platform

A pragmatic workshop on how to optimize the registry of scientific collections. It’s ideal for representatives from relevant institutions who have a broad overview of their collections. We’re aiming to enhance the organization of institutional collections, largely within the Global Registry of Scientific Collections (GRSciColl) through the GBIF Registry. Together, we’ll stepwise explore the workflow to consistently enter or improve collection metadata, aligning with CETAF-DiSSCo guidelines and Latimer Core. Participants will have the opportunity to adjust data fields, ensuring interoperability and alignment with data standards. If your institution has already published data on GBIF, this workshop will provide valuable insights into refining your collections’ visibility and specimen-related data aggregation. Our main objective is to facilitate the GRSciColl for all institutions in Belgium with a focus on fine-tuning collection entries.

Date: September 18th
Time: 10:00 am - 16:30 pm
Location: RBINS, Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels
Number of participants: max 15
Cost: Free
Lunch: Included
Registration: Here

Workshop 5: Introduction to Git & GitHub

Organized by VIB and ELXIR Belgium (Alexander Botzki & Bruna Piereck)

This workshop will take you through the basic use of Git and GitHub. Git is a free and open source distributed version-control system designed to maintain code, track changes, recover old versions and collaborate with other developers. We start from zero and take you through a journey (note that if you already use Git, this workshop will be too basic for you). We’ll explore Git on the command-line and its interaction with GitHub.

You will learn how to working locally, checking the history of your versions as much as collaborate with other people in your project.

Required skills IMPORTANT! Some basic knowledge of the command-line is STRONGLY advised for this course (e.g. this tutorial).

Date: May 16-17
Time : 9:30 am - 5:00 pm
Location : Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 75, FSVM II building, 9052 Ghent, Belgium.
Number of participants: max 25
Cost: 83 € General admission, 496 € Industry
Lunch offered: yes
Registration: Here

Workshop 6: Docker and Singularity (Apptainer) for reproducible and automated data analysis

Organized by VIB and ELXIR Belgium (Alexander Botzki & Bruna Piereck)

The course will give an introduction to containers (Docker & Singularity) which are great components to achieve portability and reproducibility of your analysis. You will learn how to use containers and how to build a container from scratch, share it with others and how to re-use and modify existing containers. After an extensive explanation on Docker containers, Singularity (Apptainer) will be highlighted as well.

Required skills You’re familiar with doing bioinformatics on the command-line.

Date: April 15-16
Time : 9:30 am - 5:00 pm
Location : Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 75, FSVM II building, 9052 Ghent, Belgium.
Number of participants: max 25
Cost: 83 € General admission, 496 € Industry
Lunch offered: yes
Registration: Here

Workshop 7: Introducing the Observation.org platform to Luxembourg

Organized by: National Museum of Natural History Luxembourg

To enrich the suite of tools dedicated to documenting and disseminating knowledge about Luxembourg’s biodiversity, the MNHNL has partnered with the Observation.org network, becoming a national node for the Luxembourg biodiversity community.
This workshop is designed to acquaint the national community of naturalists and biodiversity professionals with Observation.org, a versatile tool tailored for field-based biodiversity data recording. With a focus on its applicability for monitoring, specific project needs, and its advanced features relative to other citizen science applications, participants will gain comprehensive insight into its capabilities. The workshop will comprise both theoretical and practical segments. The theoretical session will delve into the functionalities of Observation.org and its accompanying apps, while the practical session will offer hands-on experience in the field. Additionally, the workshop seeks to gather feedback from the community regarding their requirements for an occurrence recording tool.

Date: Fall 2024
Time: 1 day
Location: Luxembourg City
Number of participants: max 20
Registration: Not available yet