- To undertake and complete training modules
- To take part in journal club meetings
- Design PowerPoint presentation for the journal club meetings
- To gain programming skills using Python, Unix and R
- To bolster my writing and presentation skills
- To build upon the skills acquired
- To use the skills to complete projects
We were trained and couched on the following topics/modules during the internship period:
- Basics of machine learning and data science
- Basics of programming with R, Python and UNIX programming languages
- Soft skills such as leadership skills, peer mentoring and career planning
- Phylogenetics
- Genomics
- Git and Github
- Basics of HPC and hypercomputing
- Journal club presentation and contribution
We were, in addition, enrolled on two mini-projects that were crucial in cementing the skills learned during the training sessions Below is a summary of the projects we were involved in and the outcome of each:
Objectives
- To read and understand the subject of the paper
- To understand the working principles of the tools used in the project
- To use the dataset used in the paper to come up with relevant if not similar findings as those in the work
Outcome here is a full documentation of the steps and outcome of the first mini-project
This was the final project of the two mini-project we had hands-on during this program.
The complete details of this project can be found here
The finer details of the milestones that we undertook for the period of the project can be found in this directory that contains individual weekly reports.
In the end, we managed to do a final report for the project which is a detailed outcome of the work as was defined by our objectives and the scope of the work.
The final project report can be accessed through this link
At the end in line with my objectives, I can confidently echo out that this program was a success to me in the following ways:
- I managed to achieve my overall objective which was to be trained, acquire skills and complete at least one project in the end
- Again, the program challenged me to always find a purpose to want to gain a skill in any field
- I can as well measure the success of the program based on the confidence it equipped me with to take up opportunities aimed at improving my programming and analytical skills
- I learnt to be more patient and strategical with my work
- I in addition acquired newer skills that I never had before
- And overall I managed to increase the span of my career network
My bigger picture for this program was to acquire additional skills and as well put into action the skills I had before. In the end, I managed to acquire and bolster my level in the following skills:
- Searching and evaluating results from a Google search engine
- Variant calling skills
- Debugging skills
- Automation using Nextflow
- Programming with UNIX and Python
- Leadership skills
- Writing and presentation skills
- Communication skills
- Designing a pipeline workflow
- Analytical skills
- Creating and running docker image
I have to express my gratitude to the ICIPE for coming up with this opportunity to educate and empower graduates with the skills and techniques to be able to take up a career in bioinformatics and related research work. Secondly, I would like to thank the team that dedicated their effort to couch us through the period, making sure we had what it takes to be bioinformatics competent individuals. Thank you so much and keep up the good work.
I would like to echo the following suggestions:
- Create a separate Github account with all the modules for the internship and have all the interns fork and keep track of it from day 1
- Unveiling the scope of the entire internship to have all the interns prepared to be placed to work on any type of project in the end