IBT (Introduction to Bioinformatics) is H3ABioNet's flagship
entry-level bioinformatics course, delivered annually across a
network of African host institutions.

Format — the classroom model. IBT is distributed: H3ABioNet
coordinates the central content (lectures, materials, practicals),
but each participant is registered with a local host
institution called a "classroom". The classroom provides
on-site teaching assistants (TAs), runs local tutorials, manages
in-person support, and is your first point of contact throughout
the course.

Delivery. Lectures are streamed online from the central team.
Practical sessions, tutorials, and Q&A are managed by your local
classroom. The course runs over multiple weeks; expect a
significant weekly commitment.

Who it's for. Applicants typically have a biology /
biomedical background and want to add bioinformatics skills.
No prior programming experience is required, but you should be
comfortable with command-line basics by the end.

Eligibility. Open to anyone who can attend a participating
classroom. You must apply through one specific classroom — see
the next article on the application process.

Cost. IBT is free to accepted participants. Local classrooms
may have their own additional costs (e.g. lab fees, internet),
but the H3ABioNet course itself is free.

More about the course model: https://www.afrigen-d.org/training.

Annual cycle. Applications open once a year, typically in
March–April. The course itself starts a few weeks later (often
mid-year). Watch https://www.afrigen-d.org/training and the
H3ABioNet social media for the announcement.

How to apply.

1. Wait for the application form to open. The form is published
   on the H3ABioNet site and hosted via REDCap
   (https://redcap.h3abionet.org/redcap/surveys/).
2. Choose your preferred host classroom from the list shown
   in the application — typically the one closest to you. If
   your country has multiple classrooms, you choose one.
3. Fill in the application form (background, motivation,
   availability for the duration of the course).
4. Submit before the closing date. Late applications are
   sometimes accepted on a case-by-case basis if you contact
   the helpdesk promptly, but don't rely on this.

Who selects you. Selection is done locally by your chosen
classroom, not centrally by H3ABioNet. Each classroom reviews
its own applicants and picks within its capacity. The central
H3ABioNet team coordinates timing but does not override classroom
decisions.

Selection is competitive. Recent runs have received many more
applicants than available places — for some courses (e.g. NGS
Bioinformatics 2021) the ratio has been roughly 2,600 applicants
for 300 places.

Outcome timing. Classrooms are usually asked to notify
applicants within ~1 week of the application deadline. If you
haven't heard by the stated deadline, see the article on
"I haven't received an IBT acceptance/rejection email — what
should I do?"

The short answer: yes, IBT requires a local classroom. The
course design depends on the local TA model, so you cannot apply
as a fully independent participant. If no classroom is registered
in your country, you have a few options:

Wait for a classroom to register. Classrooms apply to host
on an annual basis. The list changes year-on-year. Check the
classroom list at the start of each application cycle.

Apply to an existing classroom that accepts remote participants.
Some classrooms have, in some years, taken on remote applicants
from neighbouring countries — especially when delivery has been
online (e.g. during COVID-19). This is decided by each classroom
individually. You can:

1. Apply through the closest classroom that does accept remote
   participants (the application form makes this clear), or
2. Contact the helpdesk before the deadline to ask whether any
   classroom has remote capacity that year.

Encourage an institution in your country to register as a
classroom. A university or research institution that wants to
host IBT applies separately, before the participant application
cycle. If you know a contact at a suitable institution, point
them at https://www.afrigen-d.org/training. Lead time is
several months — you won't be able to get a classroom set up in
time for the current year, but you can plant the seed for the
next one.

Consider a different programme. If IBT genuinely isn't
accessible to you, look at the other training options — see the
"What other AfriGen-D / H3ABioNet training programs are offered?"
article for the full list.

Selection decisions for IBT (and similarly for the NGS
Bioinformatics Course and other classroom-based programmes) are
made by your chosen local classroom, not by the central
H3ABioNet team. The central team coordinates a deadline — usually
within ~1 week of the application closing — by which classrooms
should notify all applicants of the outcome.

Steps to take, in order:

1. Wait for the stated notification deadline before raising a
   ticket. Premature follow-ups slow the team down for everyone.
2. Check your spam folder. Notifications from classrooms can
   come from a variety of institutional email addresses and are
   sometimes filtered.
3. If the deadline has passed and you've heard nothing, lodge
   a helpdesk ticket in the Training & Education queue.
   Include:
   • Your full name and the email address you applied with.
   • The exact name of your chosen classroom and the country.
   • The course name and year (e.g. "IBT 2025").

The team will follow up with the classroom on your behalf.

An important reality check. In recent runs the courses have
been heavily oversubscribed. If you have not received any
communication and the deadline has passed by more than ~1 week,
the most likely interpretation is that you were not selected
this round. The team will confirm this for you when you ticket,
but you can already plan for next year — the courses run
annually.

Practical follow-ups if you weren't selected:

• You can re-apply in subsequent years; previous rejection
  doesn't prejudice future applications.
• For IBT, some materials are eventually published openly
  (e.g. via H3ABioNet's YouTube channel). Watch the website for
  announcements.
• Consider whether you can attend as a TA in a future round —
  this depends on the classroom you're affiliated with.

AGMT — African Genomic Medicine Training — is a course
focused on genomics applied to clinical and biomedical practice,
developed and delivered through the H3ABioNet network.

Audience. Clinicians, medical scientists, and biomedical
researchers wanting to apply genomic medicine concepts to
African populations.

Cadence. AGMT does not run every year. It has run on an
intermittent schedule, with multi-year gaps. The most recent
iteration was in [confirm current iteration in admin UI before
publishing]. The next iteration timing depends on funding and
programme capacity.

How to find out about the next run.

• Watch the H3ABioNet website at https://www.afrigen-d.org.
• Follow H3ABioNet on social media — application calls are
  announced there.
• The AGMT supporting portal is at https://agmp.afrigen-d.org.
  Note that this portal is intermittently offline outside active
  course runs and remains under iterative development.

Application process. When AGMT does run, the application
process is similar to IBT — a central application form, with
applicants choosing from a list of host classrooms. Selection
is decided at the classroom level. See the IBT-application
article for the general flow.

Internships. AGMT-related internships are reserved for
members of H3ABioNet node institutions and are advertised
internally rather than openly.

Beyond IBT and AGMT, the network has run several other formal
courses. Availability changes year-on-year depending on
funding, demand, and team capacity, so always confirm the
current schedule on the eLwazi platform or the H3ABioNet website.

NGS Bioinformatics Course. Higher-level than IBT, focused on
next-generation sequencing analysis (variant calling, RNA-seq,
etc.). Same classroom-based delivery model. Runs intermittently
and is heavily oversubscribed when it does. Application process
mirrors IBT (annual cycle, classroom selection). Course materials
(videos and notes) have historically been made available openly
after the course, via the H3ABioNet YouTube channel.

Research Data Management (RDM) Short Course. Typically a 4-day
online course covering data management plans, ethics, sharing
policies relevant to African genomics. Runs approximately
annually. See the certificate KB article for queries about
attending and certificate timelines.

GWAS / post-GWAS Training. Offered intermittently — when
running, it's typically a focused short course on association
analysis with African cohorts. Watch announcements.

Train-the-Trainer: Course Design and Delivery for
Bioinformatics. A capacity-building course for academics and
educators who want to deliver bioinformatics training at their
own institution. Runs intermittently.

16S Microbiome / Intermediate Bioinformatics. Has historically
been offered but is not currently on the active schedule.

Internships and short placements are reserved for members of
H3ABioNet node institutions and are advertised internally rather
than openly. The helpdesk cannot place external applicants.

How to be notified.

1. Sign up for the H3ABioNet mailing list at
   https://www.afrigen-d.org.
2. Bookmark the eLwazi Open Data Science Platform at
   https://elwazi.org.
3. Follow H3ABioNet and AfriGen-D on social media.

If you have a specific course in mind, raise a helpdesk ticket
in the Training & Education queue with the course name —
we'll point you to the next scheduled run, or suggest an
alternative if it isn't currently running.

Training schedules are announced through the eLwazi Open Data
Science Platform at https://elwazi.org. We recommend
bookmarking the events / training page there.

Typical cadence for the flagship courses:

• Introduction to Bioinformatics (IBT) — runs annually,
  usually around mid-year. Participant applications normally open
  ~6–8 weeks before the course start. The course is delivered
  through a network of host institutions across Africa, so the
  application also asks which host institution you'd like to
  attend from.
• Research Data Management (RDM) Short Course — runs roughly
  annually. A typical session is 4 days online.
• GWAS / NGS courses — offered intermittently when there's
  capacity and demand; not on a fixed schedule.
• 16S Microbiome Intermediate Bioinformatics — historically
  offered, but not currently on the active schedule.

To get notified when applications open:

1. Sign up to the H3ABioNet mailing list at
   https://www.afrigen-d.org.
2. Follow announcements on the eLwazi platform.
3. Watch for the call on the AfriGen-D and H3ABioNet
   social media channels.

If you have a time-sensitive need, raise a helpdesk ticket in
the Training & Education queue with the specific course name
and we'll point you to the next scheduled offering, or to a
comparable resource if the course isn't currently running.

Certificates are issued after course completion and dispatched
by the course coordinator in batches once eligibility is confirmed.

Eligibility typically depends on:

• Attendance at all sessions (or the minimum specified for that
  course).
• Completion of any required assessment or final exercise.

Distribution timeline:

• For most courses, certificates go out 2–6 weeks after the
  course ends.
• You'll receive an email from the course coordinator with either
  the certificate as a PDF attachment or instructions to download
  it from a portal.
• For larger courses (e.g. IBT, RDM with hundreds of participants),
  the timeline can extend further while eligibility is verified
  across host institutions.

If it's been more than 8 weeks since the course ended and you
haven't received anything, raise a helpdesk ticket in the
Training & Education queue with:

• The course name and dates.
• The email address you registered with (in case it was different
  from the one you're contacting us from).
• Your host institution, if it was a distributed course like IBT.

We'll route the query to the course coordinator and follow up.