May 4 – 8, 2026
CERN
Europe/Zurich timezone
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Integrating environmental sustainability into bioinformatics training and its delivery

May 6, 2026, 10:05 AM
25m
503/1-001 - Council Chamber (CERN)

503/1-001 - Council Chamber

CERN

162
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Speaker

Dr Flaminia Zane (EMBL-EBI)

Description

At the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), we support bioinformatics efforts through research, data services, and training. Training plays an essential role in shaping how biodata scientists design analyses, access data, and utilise computational infrastructure. An aim of EMBL-EBI Training is not only to teach bioinformatic tools, but also their responsible use.

In this talk, we present ongoing work to embed green computing principles across our activities. This includes: (1) developing new training content, such as the “Sustainable computing in science” on-demand course published in January 2026; (2) integrating sustainability into already existing courses; and (3) exploring ways to monitor and reduce the impact of our live courses, both computationally and operationally.

We aim to share practical lessons and open discussion on encountered challenges, such as audience prioritisation, addressing gaps in trainer expertise, and integrating sustainability as standard practice rather than an add-on, making it a core component of scientific training.

Authors

Dr Cath Brooksbank (EMBL-EBI) Dr Flaminia Zane (EMBL-EBI) Ms Kim Gurwitz (EMBL-EBI) Dr Loic Lannelongue (University of Cambridge) Ms Sophie Spencer (EMBL-EBI)

Presentation materials