The ELIXIR Training Platform was established to develop a training community that spans all ELIXIR member states (see the list of Training Coordinators). It aims to strengthen national training programmes, grow bioinformatics training capacity and competence across Europe, and empower researchers to use ELIXIR's services and tools. The current programme builds on the work established during the previous work programme (2014-2018).
The Platform:
- establishes and implements best practices in bioinformatics training through a training Toolkit
- supports training providers across Europe in creating and delivering training for developers, researchers and trainers
- builds a sustainable training infrastructure
Since 2015
1,500+
training events
training events
38,700+
people trained
people trained
60+ countries
4,700+
days of training
days of training
Services offered by the Training Platform
TeSS, the training registry for the ELIXIR community
- For trainers, the portal offers an environment for sharing materials and event information.
- For trainees, it offers a gateway to find relevant training events and resources, and to perform specific, guided analysis tasks via customised training workflows.
- For ELIXIR Nodes, TeSS provides opportunities to promote training events and news, and to contribute to a growing catalogue of materials.
The Training Metrics Database (visit the database)
- For ELIXIR Training Coordinators, the database streamlines data collection, storage, and visualisation of ELIXIR Training quality and impact data.
- For anyone interested in ELIXIR training, it lets you browse and view ELIXIR-wide training summaries and interact with dynamic reports.
The ELIXIR-SI eLearning Platform EeLP (visit the platform)
- For trainers and trainees: EeLP provides a single access point to all necessary information, dynamic educational resources, tools and services for any training event, including access to registration, compute infrastructure (HPC), exams, comms and certificates.
What the Training Platform does
During the period 2019-23 the Platform has four tasks. The below tasks are specifically describing goals and activities during 2022-2023.
Task 1. Training Toolkit
Goals:
- To publish and adopt a training toolkit
- To expand the training toolkit and assess the training impact
Activities:
- Creating a set of dedicated pages for the Handbook on TeSS and populating them with materials, links and appropriate references to all ELIXIR training best practices and guidelines.
- Collecting all statistics and feedback data from ELIXIR Nodes through a dedicated platform; publishing a report presenting long-term impact within ELIXIR, including the impact on ELIXIR services, Platforms and Communities.
Task 2. Gap analysis, training materials development and training delivery
Leaders: Fotis Psomopoulos (ELIXIR-GR), Eija Korpelainen (ELIXIR-FI), Mihail Anton (ELIXIR-SE), Jessica Lindvall (ELIXIR-SE), Ana Portugal Melo (ELIXIR-PT), Loredana Le Pera (ELIXIR-IT) and Alexia Cardona (ELIXIR-UK)
Goals:
- To analyse training gaps in ELIXIR Platforms, Communities, Nodes and Industry
- To develop training materials for identified gaps and for ELIXIR Services, Resources, and Communities
- To scale up ELIXIR training
- To define ELIXIR Core Training Resources
Activities:
- Identifying the training needs for each Platform and Community through dedicated surveys and in a limited number of dedicated meetings between the Training Platform and representatives of the Platforms, Communities, Nodes, resource providers and industry.
- Organizing hackathons to gather the experts in the identified topics and produce training materials together. These materials will be available to the Nodes/Platforms/Communities, exposed in TeSS, and their usage promoted in dedicated courses and in Train-the-Trainer courses. Training trainers in delivering the content of the training materials, through the staff exchange programme.
- Collaborating with the other Platforms, Communities and Nodes to co-organise the courses that need to be rolled-out. The Training Platform will launch a competitive call for Platforms, Communities and Nodes to select topics for a limited number of training courses. In addition, the Platform will support running of new or mature courses which are organised and funded by other Platforms, Communities or Nodes.
Task 3. Training Technical Infrastructure
Goals:
- To maintain the TeSS registry
- To prepare future technical developments of TeSS
- To expand the e-learning portfolio of the ELIXIR Platform
- To integrate the ELIXIR Training Handbook in TeSS
Activities:
- Performing routine maintenance of TeSS, maintenance of integrations between TeSS and other registries (bio.tools, FAIRsharing, Impact platform, etc.), maintenance of integrations between TeSS and third-party services; continued community work on interoperable training specifications with the Bioschemas group.
- Guiding new developments from the feedback from the Training Coordinators, as well as from TeSS users participating in a series of UX activities to be launched in the last year of EXCELERATE and continued in the period 2020-2023.
- Tagging e-learning activities of the Nodes as "e-learning" in TeSS. Creating a dedicated section in TeSS to make these e-learning activities visible and findable in TeSS.
- Developping TeSS to integrate the ELIXIR Training Handbook.
Task 4. Training Capacity Building
Leaders: Allegra Via (ELIXIR-IT). Patricia Palagi (ELIXIR-CH), Celia van Gelder (ELIXIR-NL) and Katharina Heil (ELIXIR-Hub)
Goals:
- To plan the Train the trainer events (Link to the webpage)
- To identify training needs within management and operations
Activities:
- Organising the Train the trainer (TtT) events. ELIXIR trainers will volunteer to teach in the TtT events. The Nodes involved in the task will contribute to the development of the training materials. We will ensure that criteria for TtT certification are aligned with those developed in Task 2, and TtT materials become part of ELIXIR recommended resources.
- Forming a working group to design and implement needs’ analysis, and be responsible for producing the assessment and recommendations reports.
Commissioned Services
ELIXIR funds a number of short-term technical projects called Commissioned Services that inform future service development, drive standards adoption and engage the Nodes. The Training Platform is involved in the following projects:
- Gap analysis, training materials development and training delivery
- Training Capacity Building
- Training Technical Infrastructure – TeSS
- Training Toolkit
For completed projects see the Commissioned Services page.
Leadership
jessica.lindvall [at] nbis.se
(ELIXIR Sweden)
fpsom [at] certh.gr
(ELIXIR Greece)
eva.alloza [at] bsc.es
(ELIXIR Spain)
(Platform Coordinator, ELIXIR Hub)
(ELIXIR Hub)
Platform Officer
Find out more
- Browse the Events page of this site for training events and workshops.
- Find out how ELIXIR Training is organised, including who your local Training Coordinators are.
- Collaborations of the ELIXIR Training Platform with external bodies.
