The AlphaFold Education Summit is a collaborative initiative designed to enable researchers and educators globally to fully harness the transformative potential of AlphaFold. This event provides a platform to engage with the possibilities and challenges of integrating AlphaFold into scientific research and education. Special focus will be given to addressing the unique needs and limitations faced by educators and researchers in under-resourced regions, aiming to enhance both accessibility and practical application in diverse contexts.

By providing access to bespoke training, resources, and a supportive community, we aim to empower scientists to advance their research and address local, regional and global scientific challenges. To ensure equitable access, travel, accommodation and visa cost will be supported. 

The goal of this summit is to train and empower researchers, educators and others to upskill and train researchers working in under-resourced regions in the use and application of AlphaFold to their research. 

Spaces are limited for this event. Attendees will be prioritised based on:

• The number of trainees they expect to train on the use of AlphaFold as a result of attending this Summit 
• Access to researchers in regions with a currently low use of AlphaFold in relevant research areas
• Having a breadth of regions and disciplines

Who is this course for?

• Researchers and educators in life science or related fields
• Educators instructing bioinformatics at professional and university levels
• Program coordinators and instructional designers developing regional, national, or international training programs and strategies for biology-related subjects including cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, genetics and other subjects working at genes or proteins level
• Inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility experts working to maximise participation and ensure ethical and professional practice

What will I learn?

Learning outcomes

By participating in the AlphaFold Education Summit, you will be part of a global community dedicated to advancing scientific research and addressing pressing global challenges.

• Enhanced expertise and capacity. The summit will foster a vibrant network of AlphaFold users, through hands-on workshops and train-the-trainer sessions, the summit will empower both less experienced  and expert researchers with advanced AlphaFold skills and knowledge, enabling them to train a target number of researchers within the next 12 months and establish local expertise hubs in their university, country or region.
• Co-created , contextualised AlphaFold training resources. Through collaborative workshops and knowledge exchange, the summit will result in the development of training materials and resources that are tailored to the needs, challenges, and research priorities of researchers working in under-resourced regions. These resources will be accessible, relevant, and adaptable to local contexts, ensuring a sustainable impact on AlphaFold adoption.
• Acceleration of collaborative research. The summit will stimulate meaningful networking and collaborations between researchers across different regions that are leveraging AlphaFold's capabilities to address regionally relevant challenges. 

Course content

• Collaborative learning and knowledge exchange. A diverse agenda combines technical workshops, hands-on training, and strategic discussions to equip participants with both the practical expertise and the broader understanding needed to integrate AlphaFold into their research and to deliver educational workshops on AlphaFold to their communities.
• Action-oriented collaboration. The summit prioritises turning knowledge into tangible solutions. Participants will co-develop strategies, share success stories, and initiate collaborative projects to address local and global challenges using AlphaFold.
• Global network. By encouraging a collaborative environment between researchers, the summit will lay the groundwork for equitable access, long-term partnerships that support each other, and research initiatives that can address critical issues such as food security, disease, and climate change.

Trainers

AlphaFold Education Summit will take place at EMBL-EBI, in Hinxton, Cambridge. 

The attendance, which includes accommodation and catering as detailed in the programme, is free of charge; the cost of travel and visa (if required) will be reimbursed after the successful attendance to the summit. 

Registration

The attendance to the AlphaFold Summit is free of charge, and registration is mandatory.

The registration secures:

• Access to the full three-day programme
• Catering as detailed on the course programme
• Accommodation for up to four nights (13, 14, 15 and 16 January), depending on travel arrangements
• Secure community space on Slack
• Certificate of attendance
• Bespoke course handbook with links to all course materials
• Shuttle bus on the final course day to Cambridge train station

Note: Participants must bring their own laptop

Accommodation 

Hotel rooms will be provided onsite at Hinxton Hall Conference Centre (for the nights of 13, 14, 15 and 16 January 2025). Please contact them directly if you wish to arrange to stay additional nights around the course dates.

Catering

The course includes catering as detailed on the programme tab. Please provide any dietary requirements and allergies upon registration. 

Onsite  

EMBL-EBI is located on the Wellcome Genome Campus; 10 miles (16 km) south of Cambridge, alongside the village of Hinxton. It is 30km from London Stansted airport. We are served by two local railway stations, and are situated close to Junction 10 of the M11 motorway. Full travel instructions on how to reach us can be found on the EMBL-EBI website.

We encourage the use of public transport and green travel wherever possible. If you plan to get a taxi from either Cambridge, Cambridge North, Whittlesford Parkway stations, or local airports, you may wish to contact other participants from the course to travel with you. 

We have created a ‘travel’ Slack channel which you can use to coordinate with other participants to arrange travel, this might be sharing a taxi from the airport or traveling together. Please note it is the responsibility of the participants to organise personal travel plans and make any necessary arrangements with others.

Please note: There are no footpaths going from Whittlesford Parkway train station, or Great Chesterford train stations to the Wellcome Genome Campus. Attempting to walk from these stations would involve walking on a busy main road. We strongly discourage attempting to walk from these stations to campus.

Travel reimbursement

To ensure smooth planning and coordination, participants are required to book their own flight and provide the flight details to the event organisers. 

To facilitate the reimbursement process, we require all attendees to confirm their flight details. More information will be shared upon registration completion.

Please note that the flights must be Economy class, and the total travel costs are capped as follows:

From Europe: £500

From outside of Europe: £1750*

*please contact Barbara Etzi if your flight and transport quotation is higher than £1750

Accessibility 

A full guide on the accessibility of the campus is available. Please indicate during registration if you have any accessibility adaptations or requests we should be aware of.