Join a global community building capacity in pathogen genomics and bioinformatics!
Access COG-Train massive open online courses (MOOCs) training resources on GitHub
Since 2022, we have built capacity across 140 countries in many aspects of pathogen genomics and bioinformatics, through our COG-Train programme. A partnership between Wellcome Connecting Science (WCS) and COG-UK, COG-Train combines new pathogen genomic expertise with powerful pedagogical approaches and educational platforms, to enable scientists worldwide to benefit from the evolving knowledge developed through the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
Over 14,000 learners, from across the globe, have joined us on one of our five massive open online courses (MOOCs), to strengthen their understanding and skillsets, to address some of the most challenging global infectious disease priorities. The topics covered in the five MOOCs spanned an introduction to viral genomics to the challenges in genomics surveillance and global health, including important concepts such as metadata and biobanking. Practical aspects of viral sequencing methodologies and bioinformatics analysis were also taught.
The success of these online courses, delivered through the FutureLearn platform, is evident in the feedback we have received.
The course was absolutely a thrill and replete with genomic information such as the genomic sequencing in vogue and popular bioinformatics tools.
Feedback from A Practical Guide for SARS-CoV-2 Whole-genome Sequencing
Although delivered through the lens of SARS-CoV-2, each course builds on principles and processes that can be applied to other global health threats.
If you are looking for accessible training resources to support your own research, or to help train other members of the pathogen genomics community, now you can access all the learning materials from the full set of COG-Train MOOCs on GitHub.
Explore the materials for each MOOC using the links below:
- The power of genomics to understand the COVID-19 pandemics
- From swab to server: testing, sequencing and sharing during a pandemic
- Making sense of genomic data: COVID-19 web-based bioinformatics
- A practical guide for SARS-CoV-2 whole-genome sequencing
- Pathogen genomics: a new era in global health surveillance and strategy
The GitHub repository enables easy access, interoperability and reuse of the text, images and supplementary material files of each course.
When developing and delivering these course materials, we were committed to the FAIR principles: Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reuse of digital assets. The MOOCs material is licenced under an attribution CC-BY-4.0, which means you can share and adapt the material for any purpose upon acknowledgement.
Liã Bárbara Arruda, Education Developer, Lead for COG-Train MOOCs
In addition to MOOCs, in this comprehensive suite of materials to support your needs, you will find a material repository for our collaborative programme aimed to reach countries managing complex resource challenges, to help develop Communities of Practice to support continued learning and collaboration beyond the initial training. Through a blend of virtual courses, distributed classroom sessions, and train-the-trainer initiatives, we were able to provide accessible training opportunities to bridge gaps and meet the needs specific to those regions.
Join our global community through Github today!
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