BioSpec's interdisciplinary summer school on mining of biospectroscopy data

BioSpec Norway, as part of Norwegian University of Life Sciences, is organizing an interdiciplinary summer school for Master and PhD students dedicated to analysis of biological data in infrared spectroscopy.

BioSpec summer school 2024

Date: June 17th – June 21th

Where: Online and physical presence

Questions? Contact biospec@nmbu.no

Registration is closed.

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About BioSpec summer school 2024

Attendees will be introduced to the basics in cell biology, machine learning and physics of infrared absorption, explained by renowned scientists in the corresponding fields.

The main aim of the summer school is to provide experience in solving a complex research problem in a multidisciplinary team. Students in biology, physics and computer science will work together on a two-day project culminating in a project defense and a presentation session for early-stage researchers to share their research findings with other participants.

• Hybrid: Physical and digital presence

  The summer school has been organized both physical (2018 and 2019) and digital (2020, 2021, and 2022).
  The 2023 version of the summer school was carried out as a combination between these, a hybrid summer school. The BioSpec summer school 2024 will also be hybrid.

  It will therefore be possible to join both digitally and physically. The lectures will be streamed, and we will organize the group work in such a way that it will be possible to join all parts of the summer school for both options.

  Be aware that the summer school is intensive. You will need to be available from about 8:30 - 17:30* CEST every day. All activities are mandatory and we expect you to participate.

  If you join the physical summer school you will need to bring your own computer, We will use the software Quasar.

  For students joining online, you will need a stack internet connection and a camera so we can stay connected. You should check that your computer is able to use a video conference system (such as zoom) and the software tool Quasar at the same time. We recommend the use of two screens, if possible.

• For NMBU students

  The summer school is a part of the NMBU-course FYS301/FYS401 (remember to select the correct teaching period), therefore free. The course consists of the summer school and project work in the following autumn semester.

  NB! To register for these courses you need to be registered as an NMBU-student.

  Please contact us if you have any questions.

• Pre-course

  Once you have registered and paid the fee, we will send you a link to the pre-course material. The pre-course consists of several videos you need to watch, and then you have to answer a test after each video. You won't be able to participate in the summer school unless you pass the pre-course.

  The deadline for submitting the pre-courses tests is June 3rd 2024.

  Note that the pre-course material is quite time consuming. Don't put it off until the last day.

• Temporary program and topics

  The following topics will be covered during the summer school:

  • Cell biology
  • Spectroscopic methods
  • Light scattering and pre-processing
  • Data pre-treatment
  • Analytical methods used in biology
  • PCA
  • Clustering
  • Basic regression, multi-block, PLC
  • Machine learning
  • Deep learning
  • FTIR Imaging
• Prerequisites

  Certain topics from cell biology, machine learning and spectroscopy will be covered extensively during the summer school. Participants are expected to have an intermediate-level English sufficient to participate and be successful in the learning process. Solid reasoning, ability to grasp quickly interdisciplinary relations and experience with group work is highly appreciated.

  We want to have people from all natural sciences, and encourage you to register for the course.

  Your completed study level needs to be bachelor or higher to attend the summer school. 

• Price

  The summer school fee is 100 € for attending digitally; 200 € for attending physically; free for for NMBU-students following the course FYS301/FYS401, see more information above. The cost covers course materials and administrative expenses.

• Information streams

  We will host a couple of streams before the summer school where we will give information and answer questions. The streams will last about an hour. More information to follow.

• Accommodation

  The fee will not cover accommodation expenses.

  The closest accommodation option to NMBU is Thon Hotel Ski. There are also several accomodations available in Oslo, and fast connections for reaching Ås by train and bus.

  For information on how to get to NMBU from Ski and Oslo, please see https://www.nmbu.no/en/research/groups/biospectroscopy-and-data-modeling-biospec#find-us

Acknowledgements

This summer school is supported through outreach activities by PHOTONFOOD. The PHOTONFOOD project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grand agreement No. 101016444.

Contact us

If you have any questions, please contact us at biospec@nmbu.no, or send an e-mail to Achim Kohler or Volha Shapaval: