Corresponding author: Fatima Parker-Allie (
Academic editor: Vincent Smith
Biodiversity informatics is a new and evolving field, requiring efforts to develop capacity and a curriculum for this field of science. The main objective was to summarise the level of activity and the efforts towards developing biodiversity informatics curricula, for work-based training and/or academic teaching at universities, taking place within the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) countries and its associated network. A survey approach was used to identify existing capacities and resources within the network. Most of GBIF Nodes survey respondents (80%) are engaged in onsite training activities, with a focus on work-based professionals, mostly researchers, policy-makers and students. Training topics include data mobilisation, digitisation, management, publishing, analysis and use, to enable the accessibility of analogue and digital biological data that currently reside as scattered datasets. An initial assessment of academic teaching activities highlighted that countries in most regions, to varying degrees, were already engaged in the conceptualisation, development and/or implementation of formal academic programmes in biodiversity informatics, including programmes in Benin, Colombia, Costa Rica, Finland, France, India, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Taiwan and Togo. Digital e-learning platforms were an important tool to help build capacity in many countries. In terms of the potential in the Nodes network, 60% expressed willingness to be recruited or commissioned for capacity enhancement purposes. Contributions and activities of various country nodes across the network have been highlighted and a working curriculum framework has been defined.
Biodiversity Informatics (BDI) is a new and developing field of science, with the earliest citation dating back to only 1998 (
Biodiversity Informatics-based knowledge management systems and tools, like the
This recent and multidisciplinary field of science poses enormous challenges in training, recruitment and retention of personnel. An increase in the amount of skilled personnel to manage biodiversity data and the growing digital assets of organisations is also needed. Furthermore, graduates entering the working environment often do not have the combination of skills required to support the current practice in the workplace, with further work-based training then being required. This need for training may, however, be compromised by organisations which offer staff limited or no professional development opportunities.
Biodiversity informatics also remains largely without any formal synthesis, guide, textbook or summary. That is, no textbook dedicated to Biodiversity Informatics as a science exists to guide users through the steps involved and techniques used. Further, almost no undergraduate or postgraduate programmes exist that provide a comprehensive curriculum for the field (
The current and traditional academic status of biodiversity informatics is that Information and Communications Technology (ICT) graduate programmes equip students with computational and informatics skills, whereas a traditional science degree equips graduates with the basics of biodiversity science. It is the combination of skills derived from the fields of both informatics and biodiversity that is at the core of the skill-set required by the biodiversity information scientist (
This paper proposes a framework for a globally-relevant biodiversity informatics curriculum, with contributions from the GBIF biodiversity information management community. It summarises the outcomes of a survey which was conducted prior to the GBIF Governing Board Nodes meeting held in Madagascar in October 2015 and provides recommendations for taking forward efforts in this area of work. The purpose of this paper is, therefore, to further disseminate the survey results and to advance efforts towards developing biodiversity informatics curricula content and to grow biodiversity informatics as a field of science. The initial survey results are summarised, some recommendations are outlined and the preliminary working curriculum framework is defined.
The availability of biodiversity data and information and our ability to use this information effectively, demonstrates a value for the evolving field of biodiversity informatics. Developing capacity in efficient mobilisation, management, publishing and use supports national strategies, which feed into international initiatives, including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Aichi Targets, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which all require relevant, reliable and accurate data.
GBIF plays a unique role amongst international organisations in biodiversity informatics. It is the only body supported by national governments with a mandate for mobilisation and management of primary biodiversity data on all taxonomic groups, through the GBIF Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) signed by government entities (
In March 2018, GBIF and IPBES signed a MoU, to ensure collaboration and that the activities of the two networks are complementary and closely aligned*
Globally, an overwhelming majority of countries are signatory to the CBD and have strived to achieve the twenty Aichi Targets for biodiversity conservation, through the Global Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 (
Building capacity in biodiversity informatics would, therefore, respond directly to globally agreed priorities for accelerated action to achieve targets on biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. This latter ultimately aims to end poverty, increase food security, promote education, fight inequality and injustice and tackle climate change. Capacity enhancement through either work-based or academic training is, therefore, critical.
A GBIF Nodes thematic group was established prior to the GBIF Nodes Meeting in October 2015, with the aim of getting a clear idea of how the GBIF biodiversity informatics community is contributing to development and implementation of biodiversity informatics curricula. Such curricula would support both work-based training of biodiversity informatics professionals and academic teaching at academic institutions, in their national, regional or global contexts. Specifically, it was intended to get an idea of how the GBIF community can contribute to the growing field of biodiversity informatics going forward.
Two interventions were planned and executed before the 2015 GBIF Nodes meeting, to assess current levels of activity in the GBIF network. Interventions included: (1) A survey conducted before the meeting and (2) two curricula frameworks disseminated for comment and input.
The survey was divided into two components, a first part with six questions that all node managers were invited to answer and a second part with ten more detailed questions to be answered by those with a higher activity level in the field. The survey, including the responses by participants, is provided as supplementary information.
Two curriculum frameworks were provided as a basis for discussion, each aiming to outline comprehensive BDI courses at the Honours or Masters level or for professional work-based training. The two documents included the Biodiversity Informatics Training Curriculum Version 1.2 (
In the facilitated session at the GBIF Nodes meeting, existing initiatives across the broader community were also considered, highlighted and discussed, including activity by the Biodiversity Information Standards TDWG Interest Group on Biodiversity Informatics Curriculum*
The results of the survey is presented here as supplementary information in Suppl. material
Responses were received from 31 individuals in 23 countries (GBIF Nodes) and five international and intergovernmental organisations from five continents (Fig.
The first component of the survey showed the training and capacity enhancement activities of the GBIF Nodes (Fig.
Most topics covered in Node training activities included principally digitisation and publishing of biodiversity data, followed by management, curation and analysis of biodiversity data (Fig.
Survey respondents were asked to provide a reference, including a URL link or publication, to their training and dissemination activities (question 5 of survey). Table
In the second component of this survey, 22 of the 31 initial survey participants continued to the latter half of the survey, which requested more detailed information, at the national level. An initial assessment of academic teaching activities highlighted that several countries, to varying degrees, were already engaged in conceptualisation, development and implementation of formal academic programmes in BDI.
In this regard, both Benin and South Africa engaged in developing postgraduate curricula and implementing teaching activities at the tertiary/university level. Benin has developed a BDI curriculum for an MSc Masters Level course at the University of Abomey-Calavi and initiated implementation in October 2017. South Africa engaged in the rollout of a Biodiversity Information Management course at the BSc Honours level, at the University of Western Cape (2012-2016). In Scandinavian countries, at the time of the survey in 2015, biodiversity informatics was starting to be integrated into university training programmes, including recent academic professorships in biodiversity informatics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim and the University of Bergen. Survey results also indicated that most Swedish universities are open to teaching or already teach BDI elements to some (basic) extent, but normally not at the undergraduate stage.
Further, in Europe, survey results indicate that the Spanish Node is involved in teaching BDI-related content at the Masters level and in France, the objectives of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) have been introduced into a course on Systematics and Biodiversity Informatics. It is noteworthy that the Scientific Coordinator of GBIF France holds a Professorship at the University of Paris, which can positively impact the field of BDI nationally. It is useful to note also that, while not specifically mentioned as an outcome of the survey, biodiversity informatics curriculum has also been taught in at least one university in Spain, The University of Navarra (UNAV) since approximately 2010, at the undergraduate level and at the Master's level since about 2015.
Survey results have indicated that Latin American countries, such as Brazil and Colombia, have considered BDI courses at the tertiary level. In Colombia, the GBIF Node is working with at least four universities that are willing to adopt courses on this topic. In the facilitated discussion, which took place at the Nodes meeting (which also provided an opportunity for engagement and elaboration of the details of the survey), it was identified that, in Costa Rica, the Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INBIO) is in the process of reinstating a UNESCO Chair in Biodiversity Informatics at the Technological Institute of Costa Rica. Further follow-up discussions with academics also clarified that here, a one-semester graduate-level course called "Introduction to Biodiversity Informatics" is taught annually (E. Mata, personal communication). Followup discussions with academics also identified that, in Mexico, there are three courses at two universities, focused on data analysis. Here, many students do two of the three courses to get up to speed (A. Townsend Peterson, personal communication).
In the Asian region, the survey results indicated that the Wildlife Institute of India has implemented a one-week biodiversity informatics component, within a larger module of landscape ecology in a two-year Masters in Wildlife Science course. The survey also identified educational activities conducted by the Taiwanese and Japan Nodes, through the Biodiversity Information Fund for Asia (BIFA). Follow-up discussions with the Nodes, however, identified that the Taiwanese and Japan Nodes implemented a workshop in biodiversity informatics in 2016 (
Other information reported in the survey indicated that several of the survey participants were also engaged in Masters, PhD and postdoctoral student supervision or management and/or had developed projects to support students.
Most survey participants (67%) indicated that they would be willing to make their course content openly available, to support, further rollout and uptake of BDI as a field of science. A few countries are looking at further expanding their efforts in BDI courses and degrees, although constraints here included funding, time and resources. Nodes are involved primarily in work-based training and some have indicated that they could expand their programmes for practitioners, but not necessarily into a more academic (university) context, as academic teaching in BDI was not seen as a core function of GBIF Nodes. However, other European countries, such as Norway, Sweden and France, indicate involvement in student projects and undergraduate training.
On the African continent, countries such as South Africa and Benin have fostered academic partnerships with institutions of higher learning and are facilitating the development of biodiversity informatics as a field of science. In South Africa, an extended curriculum (BSc. Honours) for Biodiversity Information Management has been developed and SANBI is engaging with additional universities to consider the roll-out of a BDI course. SANBI-GBIF has also developed a five-year strategic plan, which includes bringing Honours, Masters and PhD students on board, as well as informatics expertise, at the regional and international level. It has, thus far, been instrumental in funding two postdoctoral students in the area of Biodiversity Informatics Research Strategy development and producing innovative research into relevant biodiversity informatics tools and applications. SANBI-GBIF is also working with national government to put in place a Research Chair for Biodiversity Informatics. In Benin, two Masters level students from the BDI programme upgraded from the 2020 academic year and registered as PhD students in the BDI programme. These students, were amongst the first cohort who successfully achieved their Masters degrees in the programme.
In part one of the survey, we identified that digital platforms were being used by some countries as a medium to facilitate training. In part 2 of the survey, we identified four Nodes that were using e-learning platforms. Spain has been implementing an e-learning platform since 2010 and 34 online courses have been carried out since then, providing training to 400 students from 16 countries. The platform used by Spain from 2010-2017 was ATutor, which was substituted in 2017 by Chamilo, which allows online access to learning materials and distance-learning courses. In France, content such as data publication, data quality and data papers, are being taught through an e-learning platform and, in other instances, tools such as Adobe Captivate, are being used.
We posed the question to the research community as to what they considered to be the key research questions that can be addressed through biodiversity informatics and what were the global priorities for BDI. Some respondents felt that biodiversity informatics is a methodological science, an approach and methodology that should be used as a tool. One great possibility with informatics is to explore data to find trends that are not visible in existing data. It could, therefore, be used to discover how to make "big data" resources more useful to both scientists and decision-makers, with current and emerging technologies. This could mean development of standards and ontology models (including taxonomies) and methods for annotating data with this information and creating mechanisms for linking this additional value back to the originator of the data.
The research areas identified included very technical components, such as those related to data generation, data standards, publishing and visualisation. Other broad thematic areas identified through the survey, that could be supported through BDI research included: global warming, climate change, invasive alien species, species distribution modelling, taxonomic and phylogenetic analysis, biodiversity conservation strategies, species assessments, such as Red Lists and Black Lists, agrobiodiversity and analysis of species traits.
To assess the level of potential in the network to support academic teaching and work-based training, we enquired to what extent survey respondents were willing to mentor or train professionals. Sixty percent indicated that they would be willing to be recruited or commissioned to support teaching activities, with only 15% indicating they were not available. The expertise of the Nodes network would be very valuable to support ongoing capacity development in BDI broadly, across programmes and country-led initiatives, with the time constraint needing to be considered.
The facilitated session provided a platform for further discussion and elaboration of the survey results. It also provided an opportunity for further engagement on the existing activities, needs, existing content and resources for training and teaching activities in GBIF Participant countries. Importantly, some clear recommendations and outcomes where identified and are summarised in Table
It was also recommended that a standard modular curriculum, integrating all the existing curricula that already exists, including the results of the survey, be developed. As a consequence, this paper provides a high level working curriculum framework (Table
The working curriculum framework also includes work-based training courses conducted by the GBIF Secretariat and Nodes and spans the data value chain from data generation to fill data and knowledge gaps, to data management and subsequently data use and its applications. The GBIF and the Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG, from its former name: Taxonomic Databases Working Group) networks can take forward capacity development efforts in BDI. Individuals in these networks are already engaged in developing and improving biodiversity data standards (
With regards to data use and applications, this study has demonstrated the need for a research agenda for BDI. Peterson et al. (2010) described broad areas that BDI can support, including: (1) geography and ecology of past life; (2) a biota-wide picture of diversification and interactions; (3) future (novel) communities; (4) integrating phenotype and genotype and (5) synthetic conservation planning (
In this fast changing digital environment, new technological advancement is leading to an exponential increase in the volume and types of data available, resulting in a data deluge (
For us to maximise the volumes of data and the technological infrastructure, it is necessary to develop a research agenda and develop a direction for BDI research and development. As research becomes more data driven, it is also our ability to exploit the potential of big data and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) that can shift us towards an economy that is more technologically driven, from the third industrial (digital) revolution into the innovation of the fourth industrial revolution where the physical, digital and biological worlds continue to converge (
Based on the results including the needs expressed by the biodiversity community, it is clear that a standard modular working curriculum is needed (Table
To embed a curriculum within a tertiary institution, resources will be required to enable capacity development in BDI. This includes the need for an increase in high level academic experts to grow this field of science, with indications that the interchange of professorships is needed (Table
Government funding for visiting scientists may not be an option in many countries. Having a dedicated Research Chair (as a focal point of high-level academic expertise), however, will be a more sustainable mechanism to develop Biodiversity Informatics as a field of science. Through the establishment of research chairs, academic hubs of activity will develop, where the development and implementation of a curriculum for students in conjunction with a more strategic research approach or a research agenda can be achieved. This will drive the understanding of the mobilisation, management, publishing, use, relevance and impact of the data for society and development.
The establishment of a Research Chair in the field of biodiversity informatics, based at a tertiary institution, is likely to enable an environment of innovative and vibrant learning. Such a hub will (ideally) need to accommodate: 1.) A mixture of local, regional and international students to allow for global exchange and interaction; 2.) Facilities to assist students and academics to engage formally and informally (lecture rooms, library, outdoor facilities); 3.) Opportunities to engage in discussion groups regarding biodiversity information management related work or outputs; 4.) Opportunities to engage in seminars and other forums and 5.) Opportunities to attend weekend or week-long field research trips. This allows students to gain valuable field experience and often creates a more informal environment to discuss issues with supervisors or other academics/researchers.
What this would mean for higher education institutions is that curricula will need to be mainstreamed into degree and postgraduate courses, if we want to develop biodiversity informatics as a field of science and if we want to make an impact as a sector. This may take several years to implement and is also often market-driven. In the instance of the Benin Node, developing and implementing a Master’s level curriculum took approximately two years from conceptualisation to implementation. Benin’s advantage was the existence of a Professorship, with the Node being hosted at a tertiary institution like the University of Abomey-Calavi.
Having the academic capacity to provide the teaching required is, therefore, critical, while the need for finding work-based placements for students entering the working sector is equally important and may be a limiting factor for universities in investing in such a course. Availability of data management and biodiversity informatics positions is critical. Ultimately, there needs to be institutional buy-in relating to the need for biodiversity information managers and/or biodiversity information scientists, to ensure the viability in terms of job opportunities. There needs to be some balance in the rate of production of qualified students versus the number of jobs being advertised.
Some further key considerations for biodiversity informatics to become more integrated into Higher Education Sector and be more sustainable, includes the ability to tap into funding in a number of areas including; 1) scholarships to support the socially-disavantaged groups of students; 2) internships and MSc and PhD students; 3) funding to support international teaching missions for academics, work-based professionals and potential trainers and 4) funding to support active research work. The ability to access funding for this range of activity will promote improved efficiency and sustainability with this approach.
Member countries, through their national governments, have committed themselves to supporting GBIF as a mega-science research infrastructure, which has great potential to enhance outputs for science, technology and innovation (STI). Here, we refer to research infrastructures not just as a physical technology structure/platform, but rather as part of a research ecosystem involving whole communities. Thus, in keeping with the original recommendation of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), to foster increased cooperation and participation in science, education and enhanced engagement by academia and other communities in biological informatics, the GBIF infrastructure provides a mechanism to support this vision by providing opportunities for STI output and impact, through the use and application of biodiversity data, the development of informatics platforms and the implementation of workflows and methodologies, as well as the implementation of tools and techniques for enhanced STI outcomes.
STI faces several disruptive drivers of change including global changes i.e. socio-economic, geopolitical, scientific, rapid technological and environmental change, including the impacts of climate change (
One of the mechanisms for increased innovation is an increase in publication output (
The Heads of Delegation (HoD) to the GBIF Governing Board which are closely positioned to support governmental decision-making, have an instrumental strategic role in creating or supporting buy-in nationally, to strengthen efforts to grow biodiversity informatics as a field of science and, in turn, support STI. This includes generating/supporting buy-in with: national research foundations, funding agencies and policy/decision-makers. The key objectives here would be to support initiatives to establish Centres to develop BDI as a field of science. This includes funding to support Research Chairs and high-level academic expertise to catalyse BDI research and train the next generation of biodiversity informatics scientists and data scientists. The outcomes of such Centres will be established scientific research agendas, an increase in Honours, MSc and PhD postgraduate students in Biodiversity Informatics, engagement by the national community in a globally-emerging field of scientific research, as well as an increase in academic publications. It will also be important that the research agendas endeavour to support the SDG’s and science-policy efforts, such as IPBES, as well as other strategic priorities connected with human well-being.
HoDs can also further support the Nodes in the identification/development of strategic partnerships that can drive activities towards enhanced efforts in improving capacity in biodiversity informatics. This maybe for the purpose of implementing the curriculum at universities or for work-based training. HoDs may have existing bilateral agreements with countries or have access to other vehicles i.e. European Commission's Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe 2021 that can be tapped into. Here, efforts should be made to explore and use existing agreements or establish new efforts to secure funding to support BDI activities.
Other potential strategic partnerships with regional bodies should also be explored, including with ministerial bodies, scientific or regional tertiary bodies. In Africa, this may include the African Union, the African Academy of Science, the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA) and the Southern African Regional Universities Association (SARUA), respectively. In Europe, it may be European Union, the European Academy of Sciences and, in North America, the National Science Foundation.
An established curriculum, with a set of teaching resources will enable the roll-out of a multitude of different BDI level courses, which can be offered at institutions or as a part of university level course. Such a curriculum will provide the basis for capacity building/enhancement in biodiversity informatics for students and work-based professionals at institutions and universities globally.
This survey sets out to explore the potential of the Nodes network to support training and teaching in BDI, as this area of work is increasingly being recognised as important for further formal development through professional biodiversity informatics networks, such as TDWG (
A list of URL’s containing training information and resources has also been provided which can be reviewed and re-used in the development of training and capacity development strategies by other Nodes or organisations. This can also be expanded upon in further studies. It would also be helpful to develop a more formal list of trainers, upon redistribution of the survey, who may be willing to fully support the training and teaching efforts of the BDI curriculum, as well as to support capacity development activities of Centres for Biodiversity Informatics. Here a similar process, like the GBIF Open Data Ambassadors concept (
It is noteworthy to mention that, since 2016, the GBIF Secretariat has actively been working on the development of curriculum components/modules, to support the Biodiversity Information for Development (BID) programme, aimed at the African, Caribbean and Pacific Regions. These reusable online modules will have systemic impact for the BDI curriculum teaching and training as a whole. The BID programme's focus was on building capacity for the publication and use of data, for the making of decisions in conservation and natural resource management. The curriculum included two courses: data mobilisation (
Efforts, such as the
GBIF plays a critical role in a long data-science-policy value chain, where both the technological biodiversity informatics infrastructure, as well as the broad network of Participant Nodes and Partners, play a key enabling role towards growing biodiversity informatics as a field of science, through its capacity-building efforts. It has been identified that Biodiversity Informatics should be a part of the formal curricula at universities and here, GBIF could play a critical role, as an enabler, through the provision of training materials and content to support this field of work, as well as the network of Nodes and mentors, that have relevant expertise that can support the teaching and training for components of this field of science. It is imperative to harness the value of the GBIF Nodes network and strategic partnerships towards the best possible outcome, by ensuring that biodiversity informatics supports the best possible science and addresses global issues of significance, including global change and the bioeconomy. In the development of this field of biodiversity informatics science, efforts should be made towards maximising the use and relevance of revolutionary technologies i.e. mobile, robotics and big data and ensure that research infrastructures respond to societal demands and key policy directives i.e. the CBD, IPBES, UNFCCC, to conserve the Planet's precious biodiversity.
Ms. Parker-Allie would like to thank the Department of Science and Innovation for ongoing support to the SANBI-GBIF Node. We wish to thank survey respondents and thematic group participants, interested and willing to contribute to Biodiversity Informatics curriculum development. We also thank GBIF for establishing the platform to have thematic discussions dealing with biodiversity informatics curriculum. We also thank Dr. Erick Mata-Montero, Dr. Jitendra Gaikwad and Prof. Andrew Townsend Peterson for their contributions and/or comments to early versions of the manuscript.
Map depicting GBIF Voting and Associated Countries, as well as the survey respondents from GBIF Nodes and GBIF Associated International Organisations.
The training and capacity enhancement activities of the GBIF Nodes (questions detailed in the survey are included as supplementary information): a) Q1 describes the training and capacity enhancement activities of the Node; b) Q2 topics currently being covered by training and capacity enhancement activities; c) Q3 shows organisations with which Nodes are collaborating in relation to training and capacity enhancement activities.
List of Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) providing training and dissemination information including events, activities and relevant resources of Nodes.
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1. |
Species 2000, Naturalis Biodiversity Centre, (GBIF Participant Organisation) |
2. |
GBIF-Spain; Real Jardín Botánico – CSIC (Higher Council of Scientific Research); |
3. |
Nordic Academy of Biodiversity and Systematic Studies - A collaboration between universities including: |
4. |
GBIF Germany |
5. |
GBIF Norway, Natural History Museum, University of Oslo |
6. |
GBIF Columbia, Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt |
7. |
Asean Centre for Biodiversity |
8. |
GBIF France; Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle |
9. |
Wildlife Conservation Society Madagascar |
10. |
GBIF Portugal, Higher Institute of Agronomy, University of Lisbon |
11. |
GBIF Brazil, Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communication |
12. |
GBIF Benin, University of Abomey-Calavi |
13. |
GBIF Mexico, The National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO) |
14. |
VertNet is a collaborative project with core team members from Universities of California, Colorado, Kansas and Tulane and partners from a range of biodiversity projects. |
15. |
GBIF Node Denmark, University of Copenhagen |
16. |
NatureServe (GBIF Participant Organisation) |
17. |
GBIF South Africa (SANBI-GBIF), South African National Biodiversity Institute |
18. |
GBIF Japan, Tokyo Metropolitan University |
Outcomes of the thematic breakout group and facilitated discussion at the 2015 GBIF Nodes Meeting, in Madagascar
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1. Formal academic training in Biodiversity Informatics is critical to move from the short course nature of work-based training. |
2. A prioritised list of training for work-based professionals is needed. |
3. Training should be holistic, sequential and modular, speaking to the needs of different countries, which are at different stages of development. |
4. There was a large interest in implementing e-learning platforms. |
5. Resources are required to facilitate the interchange of high-level academic expertise between countries. This includes academics, such as professors. |
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1. Develop a GBIF-TDWG interest group, to support the curriculum. The Global Nodes Chair and a GBIF Secretariat representative for the training portfolio, should take the connection/process forward. |
2. The survey should be redistributed to capture information on work–based training and academic teaching needs globally, as well as to capture the resources/materials and expertise. The survey time should be extended as well as the target audience. The survey should be redistributed to the Nodes for wider input and should be distributed globally, including in Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) group. (This was not conducted as part of the results and discussion of this study and can be addressed subsequently). |
3. There are a number of existing resources and content already available to support Biodiversity Informatics curricula. A list of these training resources should be developed further. A GBIF task group should be developed to take this forward. The list should be dynamic and a platform should be identified to upload and maintain this list. |
4. It was identified that a standard modular curriculum should be developed, which integrates all the existing curricula that already exists, as well as the results of the survey, as a reference for new ones. |
The Initial Working Biodiversity Informatics Curriculum
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Introduction to Biodiversity and Data | Databases and their Design | Statistical Analysis of Biodiversity Data |
Basics of Taxonomy, Taxonomic Databases, checklists | Programming/Scripting/Software Engineering | Species and Ecosystem Assessment |
Biodiversity Data Capture and Data Quality Enrichment (e.g. Geo-referencing), Data Mobilisation | Biodiversity Data Assessment and Cleaning | Ecological Niche Modelling |
Science Methods | Biodiversity Data Standards, Publishing and Licensing, Data policy and frameworks | Conservation Planning |
Genetics and Molecular Data Generation | Geographic Information Systems (GIS) | Public Health Applications |
Global Change Ecology (Climate, Invasive Aliens, Natural Resources) | Data-Science-Policy Interface | |
Building Biodiversity Informatics Institutions |
Biodiversity Informatics Survey
Document - Survey Responses
Document includes the survey questions and responses to the BDI session at the 2015 GBIF Nodes Meeting
File: oo_576611.docx