IUBMB Advanced Summer School Africa

Given the dire need for increasing the number of advanced training facilities in Africa, the IUBMB  established the concept of an Advanced Summer School in Africa along the lines of several Advanced Schools in Europe. Having such a facility in Africa will be more economical as it will allow a larger cohort of African researchers to participate in the courses.

Advanced training of students and young postdocs in the field of biochemistry, molecular biology and cell biology is at the basis of a sustained scientific development in Africa. Europe has realized such a goal with the institution of the Spetses Schools, an already classical Institution that has contributed in a high degree to the scientific development of basic biological sciences in Europe. The goal of this project is to offer a similar opportunity to Africa: an Advanced School in Africa, to allow greater African participation while at the same time having a good mix of participants from the rest of the world in order to allow fruitful exchanges and collaboration.

The level of the courses will be in the form of advanced review lecturers given by world experts in the field. The lecturer:participant ratio will be no larger that 1:5 in order to foster intensive interaction. All the participants will selected at a high-level (the participants will be selected at a high-level, ie only senior PhD students and postdoctoral Fellows), they should be able to follow the lecturers and be able to actively participate in all discussions. At the end of the 8 day course, they should have obtained a deep and broader understanding of the topic under discussion.

The first lecture course will take place in March 2008.  This time coincides with the warm season in South Africa, but it is at the tail end of the tourist season so that accommodation costs are not very high.

The venue is the Windsor Hotel (www.windsorhotel.co.za) in the scenic resort of Hermanus, located 120km from Cape Town. 

The location is such that participants and lecturers can lodge and eat together, in as simple as possible, but very acceptable form. This will facilitate communication and interaction not only among participants but also with their instructors.

Hermanus is a seaside resort located approximately 100km from Cape Town. It is situated in very pleasant surroundings with a relaxed atmosphere and does not have any of the distractions typically associated with a big city. During free time, activities such as cycling, walking, swimming and whale-watching are highly recommended. The partially isolated environment will have the desired effect of fostering closer interaction amongst the participants and with the tutors. The Windsor Hotel has all the required conference facilities so no additional travel to the meeting venue is necessary.