Yayasan Biodiversitas Indonesia (BIONESIA), a non-profit organization working to promote conservation of Indonesia biodiversity, developed a series of online workshops aiming to provide training in basic molecular data analysis for Indonesian researchers conducting biodiversity research.
A first grant ($7,500) supported a four-week long course on molecular ecology in Eastern Indonesia, with goals of teaching, increasing inclusivity, and community-building. The course will expose participants with a myriad of tools and online resources to do molecular ecology related research with particular emphasis on analyzing sequence data, creating a phylogenetic tree and being introduced to the R environment for data analysis. Most importantly, the course acted as a networking venue for young and senior researchers involved in the program to nurture future research, exchange ideas and experiences and minimize barriers in scientific understanding.
The success of the initial series, conducted in 2021, led to the development of a robust network where researchers can connect, solve challenges, and learn new skills related to data analysis. A second grant ($10,005) supported BIONESIA to expand the series to reach a broader audience, including universities in western Indonesia who are disconnected from more recent developments in phylogenetic and basic DNA data analysis. The expansion of these online learning workshops will continue to support molecular ecology research and data analysis in an open and equitable manner.
