Category: Opportunities

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MATHack Western Cape 2022

The MATHack Western Cape 2022 is open for registrations and the theme for 2022 is Finding creative solutions to the difficulties that COVID-19 has brought upon the people of the Western Cape. The 24-hour coding challenge is exclusively for universities and colleges from the Western Cape, and promises to be action-packed and fun. Teams of up to 4 people can register.

Prizes include:
1st place: MATHack WC 2022 trophy and R5000
2nd place: R4000
3rd place: R3000

Event details:
Date: 17 September – 18 September
Time: 12:00 pm -12:00 pm
Place: UCT Upper Campus, PD Hahn 1

Register: MATHack WC 2022 Registration

Sign up for the MATStart & MATApp workshops to help you and your team upgrade your MATLAB skills in preparation for the hackathon.

#MATHack_WC_2022

Find more information on their website: https://www.optinum.co.za/mathack-wc-2022

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Opportunity: Zindi Ambassadors

Zindi, a Data Science platform and social enterprise with a focus on building a “data science ecosystem” in Africa, is looking for volunteer Ambassadors. The role will involve creating awareness in your own communities about data science and Zindi activities. Zindi’s mission is to build the data science ecosystem in Africa. They are a Cape Town-based company with a vision for a vibrant community of data scientists across Africa, mobilised towards solving the region’s most pressing problems.

Find out more and register to become an ambassador: https://bit.ly/3IViXPw

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Workshop: Creating a DMP

Research data management (RDM) is an integral component of the research process. A data management plan (DMP) provides detail of how your research data will be managed. A workshop held on 2 Augusts aimed to provide an overview of what DMPs are, why a postgraduate student would need one, and a practical guide on putting one together.

Workshop contents:

  • What is a data management plan (DMP)?
  • Why postgraduate students need DMPs
  • How to put together a DMP plan

Workshop outcomes:

  • Basic understanding of the UWC RDM policy and the POPI Act
  • Understanding of the implications of these policies for postgraduate research
  • Practical skills for putting together a RDM plan for thesis research

Date: 2 August 2022
Time: 12:00-14:00

Sign up here: https://forms.gle/Fhys6o2hLe64GGEj9
Watch the recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNfnrAKJDU4

Facilitators: Mark Snyders (Library), Sarah Schäfer (eResearch Office),  and Janine Senekal (DPGS)

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Africa Open Science Hardware Summit

AfricaOSH is an organisation that aims to inspire African makers, and is focused on open source scientific tools and hardware. They seeks to promote and provide a platform for innovation and creation in Africa, and hold annual events.

The 2022 annual summit theme is Growing the Do-It-Yourself & Do-It-Together (DIY/DIT) Culture for Community Transformation : a focus on Open Health, and promises to be insightful, educative, innovative and fun. The event will be hosted by MboaLab and take place from 29 September-1 October in Yaounde, Cameroon. Read more about it here.

Applications to attend the 2022 AfricaOSH annual summit are now open: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdOwXEONbacMeYX5p1BEpWT20uyQZuByTiRBkLfgGPDXKjUhA/viewform

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CarpentryCon 2022: Expanding Data Frontiers

CarpentryCon 2022 will take place online from 1-12 August 2022, and registration is now open. CarpentryCon is an exciting way to connect with The Carpentries community and level up data science skills. Attendance is free, and takes place over two weeks, featuring sessions that will draw participation from around the world.

The programme will include: lesson development sprints, professional and community skill building, technical skill-ups, regional subcommunity updates, updates on new curriculum development and more.

The CarpentryCon 2022 Schedule can be viewed, and all sessions will be recorded.

Read more about the event and register to attend at https://2022.carpentrycon.org/

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Basics of R: a Training Module

In collaboration with DPGS, a ‘Basics of R’ training module will begin on 5 July. The module will include an introductory session, after which training materials will be available through iKamva. The purpose of this training module is to equip postgraduate students with basic knowledge and skills to begin using R.

R is a programming language that is widely used by researchers in various disciplines for data manipulation, calculations and graphical display and visualisations. Anyone who would like to begin working with R as part of their research or skills development will benefit from this training module, and the lessons are aimed at people with no previous experience.

Interested participants can register at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe-DvVWWGV9OU4uoEQGDTI9vrDvvRpPPO_z_W8y5fBHrM_ZYg/viewform

Intro-to-R-poster-finalDownload
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Working with Data Training Module Q&A Session

The Working with Data: Training Module, created in collaboration with DPGS, is still available on iKamva, and the Q&A session on Wednesday 8 June is an opportunity to ask questions about spreadsheets and OpenRefine.

The session is also for those who would like to begin working on the module during the vacation period.

To access the training module and the recording of our introductory session on iKamva: https://ikamva.uwc.ac.za/x/qV5MAP

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Training Opportunity : Data Science and Machine Learning

A training opportunity for data science and machine learning is available and registration closes on 25 May.
 
Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) in Kampala, Uganda, is working in partnership with four other African universities to research the COVID-19 response in Africa. Through the collaboration, a community of practice (COP) has been establised. It is aimed at developing the capacity of African institutions to prepare, analyse and respond to disease epidemics successfully.
 
As part of the COP, and in partnership with IBM Research Africa (IBMRA) scientists, who have expertise in artificial intelligence (AI), data science, and machine learning, the project has organised a capacity-building opportunity on data science and machine learning.
 
Participants interested in or with a background in data science, artificial intelligence, machine learning and cloud computing are encouraged to register. There is no minimum skill requirement aside from computer literacy.

Topics that will be covered include analysing the impact of COVID-19 on essential health services using time series analysis; learning from COVID-19 models to support what-if scenario analysis; and intervention planning and descriptive statistics to analyse NPIs implemented in African countries.

The training will be conducted online through Webex, with an expected engagement of about 2 hours every week. Facilitation will be in both English and French, and the programme will run until October 2022.

Interested participants can register here : https://shorturl.ae/Gd3EC
by 25 May 2022.

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EMPOWER: Digital Humanities Programme

Escalator has created an 8-step programme for to learn new digital technologies and skills that enhance research.

The programme is specifically targeted at womxn in humanities and social sciences in South Africa who want to learn and enhance their digital and computational research skills. Folks from any career stage are welcome to join. This includes researchers, postgraduate students, postdoctoral research fellows, librarians, IT staff, research support positions, and related areas. The programme caters for any experience level: from complete novices to those with advanced skills.

Escalator is an exciting addition to the South Africa Digital Humanities (DH) landscape. It launched last year, and has been working closely with members of the community to understand the needs for upskilling and re-skilling and learning new tools/technologies and methodologies to enhance research in an increasingly digital world. They are excited to announce the launch of this programme, based on intentional learning principles, through which they will support learning and growth.

More information is available: https://bit.ly/empower-2022.
The first event takes place on 19 May 2022 from 11:30 – 13:00.
Register at https://bit.ly/empower-2022.
The session will be recorded and shared afterwards.

For the full programme, see the Eventbrite page: https://bit.ly/empower-2022
To stay informed of upcoming events through the EMPOWER track, JOIN THE MAILING LIST.

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Working with Data Training Module now active on iKamva

After a successful introductory session on 11 May, the Working with Data: Training Module, created in collaboration with DPGS, is now live on iKamva. For those that missed the introductory session, the recording is also available on iKamva.

The purpose of the training module is to equip postgraduate students with the basic knowledge and skills needed to clean and organise their data using spreadsheets and OpenRefine. The lessons are based on Data Carpentry lessons.

The lesson materials will be available until 8 June.

To access the training module on iKamva: https://ikamva.uwc.ac.za/x/qV5MAP