SAEON Graduate Student Network

Latest Graduate Student Network News

Causal Inference for the Biological Sciences

What is causal inference? Most simply, causal inference is a sub-discipline of statistics and computer science that aims to infer causes from data. I will go through some basic principles of causal inference, illustrate why many standard analyses conducted in the biological sciences (e.g. multiple regression, model selection) frequently violate causal inference principles, show you why experiments are not safe from thinking causally and, finally, provide some recommendations about how to improve causal inference in the biological sciences.

Read More »

An introduction to image annotation using BIIGLE 2.0

Luther Adams is a benthic ecologist with expertise in marine image annotation. Currently, he is the marine ecosystem scientist at the South African National Biodiversity Institute where he curates the invertebrate reference image and occurrence database. Since taking up this position he has been developing workflows and tutorials for image annotation for a number of image sampling protocols including but not limited to remotely operated vehicle, drop and towed camera images. Over the past few years he has given in-person image annotation training workshops to students and interns from DFFE, CPUT and UCT.

Read More »

PowerPoint Presentation Skills

The purpose of this workshop is to equip attendees with skills to make their presentations look good and professional, give tips and tricks to present with confidence, highlight the do’s and don’ts when it comes to presenting and the content of PPTs.

Read More »

GSN Indibano 2023

Mountain meet Seas: Exploring environmental interactions”

On 22 – 27 October 2023, NRF-SAEON hosted the 15th GSN Indibano in Cape Town.

Various workshops and guest presentations were held during the Indibano. We have made those resources available for you!

Read More »

Introduction to Python

This workshop will cover some basics of using Python in conjunction with environmental data. Specifically focusing on where and how to download environmental data, basic data analysis such as calculating climatologies and visualizing data through maps, time-series and animations. The seminar will use ‘google colab’ which is a convenient platform for Python coding for anyone with a Google account. The seminar is intended for anyone interested in starting out with Python or would like a refresher on the basics.

Read More »

HTTP Party: A Quirky Adventure in Data Retrieval with cURL and Python

Join us for a comprehensive (but quick!) walkthrough of HTTP, learn valuable techniques for programmatically accessing data, and explore the potential of leveraging tools like ChatGPT to generate code tailored to your needs. Whether you are a data enthusiast, developer, or researcher, this workshop equips you with practical knowledge and some useful code snippets as a future reference.

Read More »

GSN Indibano 2022 Workshops

On 16 – 21 October 2022 NRF-SAEON hosted the 14th GSN Indibano in partnership with the Expanded Freshwater and Terrestrial Environmental Observation Network (EFTEON) and SAEON Arid Lands Node in Kimberley, South Africa.

Various workshops were held during the Indibano. We have made those resources available for you!

Read More »

Introduction to Spatial Data in R Workshop

Resources for the SAEON GSN Advanced R workshop with Dr Joseph White, July 2022.

This short workshop for SAEON GSN will introduce you to spatial data and analysis in R. It is aimed at R beginners to intermediates, who may or may not have GIS-type background in other programming platforms. We will explore different types of spatial data and introduce you to spatial analysis workflows through worked examples.

Read More »

Basics of R Workshop

Resources for the SAEON GSN Basics in R workshop with Dr Joseph White and Refilwe Kai-Sikhakhane, June 2022.

This workshop is targeted at postgraduate students who have not had as much experience using R or R Studio. It covers the basics such as installation of the software and necessary packages, importing different data types, data manipulation, creation of graphs and basic statistical analyses.

Read More »