From trainees to trainers to instructors: Sustainably building a national capacity in bioinformatics training

Abstract

Demand for training life scientists in bioinformatics skills led to the development of a train-the-trainer collaboration between the European Molecular Biology Laboratory-European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) and 2 Australian organisations, Bioplatforms Australia and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in 2012. The goal of the collaboration was to establish a group of trained instructors who could develop and deliver short bioinformatics courses nationally. A train-the-trainer course introduces instructors to aspects of andragogy and evidence-based learning principles to help them better design, develop, and deliver high-quality training. Since then, both the number of trainers in the network and the course portfolio have grown. Best practises have been developed and shared between the Australian cohort and EMBL-EBI to address common challenges in bioinformatics training. The Australian trainer cohort undertook a train-the-trainer instructor course, again with EMBL-EBI, and subsequently successfully delivered train-the-trainer courses to interested bioinformatics trainers within Australia. We conclude that a train-the-trainer approach can help build national capacity and maintain a critical mass of trained instructors.

Fig 1. Components of the EMBL-EBI, Bioplatforms Australia, and CSIRO train-the-trainer model.

CSIRO, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation; EBI, European Bioinformatics Institute; EMBL, European Molecular Biology Laboratory.

Fig 2. Feedback from instructors in training following the TtTI course, describing how it helped them to train others.

Fig 3. Outcomes beyond the scope of the initial TtT and workshop delivery have been achieved.