GSN Indibano will provide platform for students to share ideas

Join the SAEON Graduate Student Network (GSN) today! (Pictures © Johan Pauw and SAEON)

The SAEON Graduate Student Network (GSN) committee members are pulling out all stops to arrange their first-ever Indibano, which will be held at De Hoop Nature Reserve in the Western Cape from 24 - 29 August 2008.

The 5-day Indibano (get together or gathering) will include on-site training in the field to postgraduate students from a range of different disciplines. The Indibano aims to provide experiential training and insights into the different aspects of long-term studies of earth systems and biodiversity.

The Indibano is aimed at students involved in all fields of research regarding long-term environmental knowledge, and especially encourages participants from “non-traditional” fields such as social studies, economics, public health, environmental education.

The GSN Indibano will provide a platform for students to share ideas, collaborate with one another, and get a broader understanding of ecological research with an expanded context in which to view their own research. Students will be exposed to the importance of long-term research, and how their work can be part of that framework.

Topics to be explored include:

Fynbos Ecology – the role of SAEON Fynbos Node in LTER
The role of Marine Protected Areas
R Statistics course
Environmental Economics

The GSN hopes to showcase SAEON’s newly established Fynbos Node during this Indibano.

Proposed programme:

Visit Graduate Student Network

Date	Morning	Afternoon	Evening
Sunday 24 Aug	Arrive in Cape Town Drive to De Hoop	Book into accommodation	Welcome GSN Committee presentations William Bond – Talk on his career (confirmed)
Monday 25 Aug	Intro - Fynbos Node: Nicky Allsop (proposed) Intro to De Hoop - Dirk Snyman (confirmed) Intro to Fynbos – William Bond (confirmed) Basic Intro to R-statistical package: Res Altwegg (confirmed)	R-environment	Student presentations
Tuesday 26 Aug	Environmental Economics – Beatrice Conradie (confirmed)	R-environment	Student presentations
Wednesday 27 Aug	Data collection	Data analyses using R-statistical package	Student presentations
Thursday 28 Aug	Marine Protected Areas – Collin Atwood (proposed)	Picnic Field trip+	Course evaluation and presentation of prizes Braai
Friday 29 Aug	All leaving

Talks and posters

Presentations will be held each evening. All attendees are expected to submit an abstract and give a 12-minute talk on their work.

Abstracts

Abstracts most relevant to SAEON’s research policy and aims will be selected for presentations or e-posters. The abstracts will be judged by SAEON’s Managing Director, Mr Johan Pauw. Students who submit the top 25 abstracts will be fully sponsored by SAEON to attend the GSN Indibano. These sponsorships are competitive and will be awarded based on individual merits, judged on the basis of the submitted abstracts.

For more information, go to www.saeon.ac.za/students .

Please note this symposium is only open to members

of the SAEON Graduate Student Network.

To become a member, email Musa, with your name, degree, institution, research title and a short (few lines) motivation on how your research fits into SAEON’s research aims