Welcome to Dr Clement Nyirenda – Director of eResearch

The eResearch Office has the pleasure to welcome Dr Clement Nyirenda, its new Director as of August 1st, 2023.

Dr Clement Nyirenda was a Senior Lecturer and acting Head of Department in the Computer Science, while highly active in interdisciplinary research projects, collaborating with various departments at UWC. His past partnership with the eResearch Office in supporting the University’s data intensive research initiative has been emphasized by his academic commitment for research, teaching and leadership roles.

We are looking forward to his leadership, skills and expertise in advancing the eResearch agenda at UWC.

The Smart Hospital Innovation at Taichung Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan

The eResearch Office at the University of the Western Cape, in collaboration with the Computer and Communication Centre at Taichung Veterans General Hospital (TVGH) in Taiwan, cordially invites you to a webinar that will focus on the Smart Hospital Innovation at Taichung Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan. TVGH has been listed in the top 300 World’s Best Smart Hospitals in 2023 and 2024. Furthermore, TVGH is a recipient of many smart hospital awards.   

Date:  Tuesday, 26th March, 2024
Time:  09h00-11h00 (SAST)

Registration Link: https://uwc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_KSTNGhYCQYWQ9iEwZHgkJQ

Programme
This webinar is composed of four presentations, by the team from the Computer & Communications Center (CCC) at TVGH, as follows:

Session #1:Information System of Smart Hospital; Presenter: Mr Lai-Shiun Lai, Director, CCC, TVGH
Session #2:The E-Paper Use Cases in Taichung Veterans General Hospital; Presenter: Mr Yi-Chun Wu, Deputy Leader of Application Development Section, CCC, TVGH
Session #3:Smart Operation Room Management System; Presenter: Mr Chien-Chung Huang, Leader of Clinical Information Section, CCC, TVGH
Session #4:Telehealth of Hospital Information System; Presenter: Mr Ching-Tsung Chen, Leader of System Foundation Section, CCC, TVGH

REDCap Webinar – 19 September 2023

The eResearch Office (ERO) in collaboration with the Research Development and Postgraduate Support (RDPS) are organizing a seminar on the use of REDCap, a web application for collecting and managing research data.

The purpose of this session is to comprehensively cover the many stages involved in a REDCap project, from a general overview, the initial setup, progressing through data entry and data export processes as well as using advanced features and specialized modules.

To sign up for the webinar, Click on REGISTER


Email queries: Ms Aasiyah Chafekar (RDPS) at achafekar@uwc.ac.za or
Dr Frederic Isingizwe (eResearch) at fisingizwe@uwc.ac.za

CHPC-NITHeCS Coding Summer school — 29 January to 9 February 2024

Registration has opened for the Coding Summer School (CSS) 2024.

This is a joint effort between the Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC) of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the National Institute for Theoretical Computational Science (NITheCS) aimed at training researchers across South Africa and Southern Africa in the fundamentals of programming, data science, HPC, and computational sciences. 
The CSS will take the format of a hybrid event where participants will be required to attend specific universities and research locations. The University of the Western Cape will be one of these locations for the CSS, taking place from Monday 29 January 2024 until Friday 9 February 2024.
Eligible Applicants:

The CSS is aimed at postgraduate students and researchers in STEM fields focusing on the fields of astronomy, biology, computer science, chemistry, engineering, mathematics, medical, and physics.
Format:

- Lectures/tutorials occur Monday to Friday
- Lecture/tutorial times: 10:00 - 16:00 with breaks each day
- Notes, quizzes, and assignments provided
- Certificates awarded to qualifying students
Week 1:

Participants will learn the fundamentals of Python and data science which will allow them to analyze and manipulate various datasets. They will also be introduced to Linux and Bash in order to learn HPC skills.

Week 2:

In week two, participants are exposed to Python applications, covering machine learning, probability & statistics, and various domain specific topics.
How To Apply:

For more information and if you wish to attend the CSS, kindly follow the link below to register:

https://events.chpc.ac.za/event/120/

Space is limited at the various locations so make sure to register soon to book your place.

There are representatives from each university and some research institutes, known as champions. For any further queries and logistics @UWC, contact fisingizwe@uwc.ac.za

For general inquiries please contact: training.chpc@csir.co.za

Software Carpentry Workshop to be held 24-28 July 2023

Learn basic research computing skills so you can do your work in less time and with less pain

This hands-on workshop will cover basic concepts and tools, including programme design, version control, data management and task automation. Participants will be encouraged to help one another and apply what they have learned to their own research problems.

Who should attend and Requirements

he workshop is aimed at graduate students and other researchers. You don’t need any previous knowledge of the tools that will be presented at the workshop.

You will need access to a computer with a Mac, Linux, or Windows operating system (not a tablet, Chromebook, etc.) and administrative privileges. You will need to install a few specific software packages – view these here: http://bit.ly/3puTC9K. You also need access to Zoom and Internet connectivity.

How to apply

Click HERE to complete and submit your Application Form by 19 July. Successful applicants will be notified on 20 July 2023.

For more information, please email rene.kotze@nithecs.ac.za.

CHPC-NITheCS Coding Summer School 2023

30 January 2023 – 10 February 2023

The Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC) and the National Institute for Theoretical and Computational Sciences (NITheCS) are organizing a coding summer school that offers introductions to Foundations of Theoretical and Computational Sciences on topics such as Data Visualization, Data Analysis, Modelling and Simulation, Stochastic Methods, Machine Learning and Software Management.

A basic programming course that introduces participants to Linux (Ubuntu) command line and bash scripting, and the Python programming language will be given as a foundational tool for the school.

Students registered for Honours, Masters and PhD studies as well as postdoc fellows, in South Africa are eligible to apply and the attendance is free of charge. The school will take on a physical form at various university locations around the country, therefore participants will be required to attend one of the university locations.

The University of the Western Cape will provide one of these locations on its campus, and all interested candidates are encouraged to apply.

Course content

  • Daily lectures and interactive tutorials
  • Moodle used as the learning management environment
  • PDF notes, exercises, and YouTube videos provided
  • Zoom used for live streaming
  • Slack used as official communication medium
  • Prizes awarded to select students

Requirements and Registration

Participants are encouraged to bring their own laptops but where it is not possible, the organizers might assist to access an on-site computer. No programming skills and basic Linux knowledge are required, although that would be an advantage. Applications can be done at this registration link and more information on the can be obtained here.

Important dates

  • Closing date for registration: Saturday, 31 December 2022
  • Notification of successful candidates: by 16 January 2023
  • School start and orientation: Monday, 30 January 2023
  • School end: Friday, 10 February 2023

Digital Transformation Short Course

Technology Skills for Industry 4.0 with applications to the Pharmaceutical and Food Processing/Manufacturing industries

Applications are open for a short course on Digital Transformation applied to the pharmaceutical and food processing/manufacturing industries that will focus on enhancing knowledge, skills and competencies associated with the concepts of digital transformation and the evolution of life science manufacturing from a traditional reactive process to the emergence of Industry 4.0 and Pharma 4.0.

This course will be the first of its kind on the African continent, and InnoGlobal is behind the initiative, in partnership with Development in Africa with Radio Astronomy (DARA) Big Data, the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) and the African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) South Africa. This is the first time that this course will be offered under the DARA Big Data partnership, with SARAO and AIMS South Africa leading the local implementation of the course in South Africa. Read more about the partners here.

Learners will research current and future trends in life science manufacturing; the application and impact of greater use of technology, data analysis and visualisation on current performance; the impact on organisations and their levels of maturity to complete such transformations as well as ethical and corporate social responsibilities associated with such changes. The programme aims to equip learners for employment within life science organisations that are transforming their processes to integrate data, new technologies, data analytics, improved ways of working and improved support processes.

Digital Transformation refers to the smart integration of technologies, processes and data to improve operational effectiveness and capability in any environment. Within manufacturing sectors, expertise is needed in process digitalisation, data management, data analytics and data visualisation to successfully transform to what is known as industry 4.0.

DETAILS

Applications are open to participants from South Africa and the SKA Partner countries (Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, and Zambia). Applicants must have a 4-year BSc Honours or BEng degree or are currently undertaking or have completed a MSc or MEng degree. Graduates with an interest in the pharmaceutical and food processing/manufacturing industries are strongly encouraged to apply for the course.

Only complete applications adhering to all the required criteria will be considered.

Application Deadline: 9 September 2022

Course structure and dates
The course will be divided into 3 components
October 2022 Online learning
November 2022 Week-long intensive in-person workshop in Cape Town
December 2022 – February 2023 Career guidance and mentorship sessions

Apply here by 9 September: https://sites.google.com/aims.ac.za/digital-transformation/

Read more: https://sites.google.com/aims.ac.za/digital-transformation/

IADF Summer School: Computer Vision for Earth Observation

Applications are Open

A great opportunity is available for anyone wanting to expand their skills in computer vision for remote sensing. Computer Vision for Earth Observation (CV4EO) is an online Summer School, organised by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) GRSS (Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society) and Image Analysis and Data Fusion Technical Committee, and will be the first of its kind.

The GRSS’s IADF serves as a global and multi-disciplinary network for geospatial image analysis. They aim to connect people and resources, educate and promote theoretical advances and best practices in image analysis and data fusion. This includes machine learning, deep learning, image and signal processing, and big data. The summer school will focus on applying computer vision (CV) methods to address challenges in remote sensing.

An exciting line-up of speakers will contain a series of lectures on the existing methods utilised for analysing satellite images, along with the challenges encountered, and cover topics including Image FusionExplainable AI for Earth Sciences, Big Geo-Data, Multi-source Image Analysis, Deep Learning for Spectral Unmixing, SAR Image Analysis, and Learning with Zero/Few Labels. The school will include lectures, theoretical sessions and hands-on practical sessions.

DETAILS

The summer school is open to everybody who has a strong motivation and interest in the topics. Participants will not be charged a registration fee. The number of participants is limited to 75, but the course will be broadcast to everyone who applies. Those who attend the course will receive a certificate.

Application deadline: 23 September
Summer School dates: 3-7 October
Apply here: https://iadf-school.org/

Speakers include:
Avik Bhattacharya
Melba Crawford
Saurabh Prasad
Behnood Rasti
Sylvain Lobry
Lichao Mou
Caleb Robinson
Alejandro Frery

Training Opportunity: DIPLOMICS Bioinformatics for Molecular Biologists

A training course offered by DIPLOMICS and Thermo Fisher Scientific that deals with the basics of the Linux operating system and command line operation is open for registration.

DIPLOMICS is a network of academic, commercial and industrial labs in South Africa and a resource for the national and international Omics community.  

This hands-on course includes:
– An introduction to the Linux OS and how to work in the command line;
– Relational databases and MySQL;
– Basic database operations (creating tables, inserting data, constructing queries);
– Python (or Perl) programming languages;
– Creating a script that transforms variant data into a format that can be loaded into a relational database.

DETAILS

The course is open to all molecular biologists and bench scientists interested in going beyond the graphic interface. The course is open to cross-platform data analysis users (not limited to Ion Torrent users).

Course dates: 22-26 August

Venue: DIPLOMICS training room in Cape Town (108 Albert Rd, Woodstock)


Apply herehttps://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=LXJ9toqqd0ehaevremo7ZxXHBWUAwhBDlbkMFjEAwBdUOFdPVzRUN1pPRVY1R0U5TFY0Mk5HN1gwUi4u