Genome sequencing, assembly, curation, and downstream analyses

Registration includes:

• Course registration

• Course material

• Accomodation

• Meals and coffee breaks

• Transportation (cards and/or bike rental)

• Welcome dinner, group excursion

Payment

The selected participants will receive an e-mail with the attached acceptance letter together with payment details by 17 June 2024. Payments will be requested to be made through the University of Florence payment system.

Cancellation policy

We request that participants cancel on or before 30 June 2025. This will allow other participants who were not selected in the first place to attend the course.

Please note that we do not offer refunds unless the event is canceled for unforseen circumstances.

Selection criteria

Selection will be based on CVs and motivation letters of applicants. Priority will be given to (1) early stage researchers (i.e., PhD students and postdocs), (2) geographical balance favouring countries and institutions where genomic expertise is being or yet to be developed, (3) gender balance. Particular importance will be given to letters of motivation demonstrating that knowledge of genome assembly and downstream analyses is crucial to the applicant’s research and/or career. Multiple applications from the same research group are discouraged. Instead, we expect participants to share expertise acquired during the course with other members of their organization.

Please also provide at least one reference letter.

A working knowledge of the shell environment is highly recommendedbut it is not a prerequisite for selection. Selected applicants with no prior knowledge of command line tools should get acquainted with the shell environments by following the online tutorial prior to the course start date.

Abstract guidelines

In order to facilitate interactions between participants, the course will start, on the first day, with a poster session.
Posters should provide a general overview of each participant’s current research and have abstracts with a max. length of 250 words.

Poster specifications

Maximum poster size should be A0 format: 841 mm (width) x 1190 mm (height). A passport-style photograph of the presenting participant should be included in the upper-left corner of the poster.

Travel grants and registration fee waivers

Travel grants and registration fee waivers are available for participants.

Selection of awardees is handled directly by the organizers. EMBO travel grants and registration fee waivers are allocated on the basis of the quality of the submitted abstract.

Applicants do not need to apply separately for these but should indicate on the registration form if they wish to be considered.

Additional travel grants are available for EMBC Associate Member States Chile, India, Singapore and Taiwan.

Child care grants

EMBO Courses and Workshops offers grants to offset additional childcare costs incurred by participants or speakers when participating at any EMBO Courses and Workshop funded meeting. Eligible costs include fees for a caregiver or child-care facility, travel costs for a caregiver, or travel costs for taking the child to the meeting etc. Please indicate on the registration form whether you would like to be considered for the grant. Please also describe how you intend to use the childcare grant and specify the sum that you will need.

Sustainability measures at this meeting

We strongly suggest traveling by tram from the city airport to reach the centre of Florence. Traffic limited zones make car access difficult in the historic centre of the town. The venue is 15-minute walking distance from the main train station and 10 min from the hotels where speakers and participants will be staying. There are several bike renting services as well as a Mobike bike sharing system in the city that can be used by participants.

Catering will be organized in local restaurants which use Tuscan ingredients, providing high quality food while reducing carbon footprint.

Abstract books and programs will be distributed in electronic formats only.

Code of conduct

Anti-harassment and non-discrimination policy

At EMBO, we believe that harassment and discriminatory behaviour are unacceptable in any setting.

Media and communications policy

Recording or communication of the presented data needs to be agreed upon by all concerned.

EMBO's code of conduct is applicable for all participants of this EMBO meeting and can be found here.