GTI Thematic Training
In addition to awarding grants for GTI Schort-term Scholarships (see here) and GTI Capacity Development Projects (see here), which are mostly dedicated to training on specific taxonomic groups, the Belgian National Focal Point (NFP) to the GTI also aims to strengthen the capacities of scientists from partner countries in domains that are relevant across taxa by (co-)organising general trainings/workshops on a specific topic.
About the Thematic Training Grant
This grant type funds the participation of (para)taxonomists from eligible developing countries in short-term general trainings or workshops (co-)organised by the Belgian GTI-NFP in Belgium or abroad (up to 2 weeks).
In contrast to the trainings at Belgian research institutes (GTI Scholarship Grants) and the trainings on the ground (GTI Capacity Development Projects), which usually focus on specific taxonomic groups, these general workshops aim to enhance the participant’s knowledge and/or skills in domains that are relevant across taxa.
General trainings are ad hoc or demand-driven and may cover the following topics (without being exhaustive):
- Introduction to taxonomy
- Introduction to natural history collections
- Nomenclature and classification
- Species concepts
- Evolution
- Molecular biology and phylogenetics
- DNA barcoding
- Combining taxonomy with GIS, remote sensing, aerial photography to upscale towards land use management
- Scientific & project writing
- Interpretation and visualization of taxonomic data (including statistics)
- Integrating taxonomic research into policy recommendations (e.g., producing policy briefs) for better biodiversity conservation and local livelihoods
- Networking (alumni, regional mycologists, etc.)
- Mainstreaming GTI and taxonomy in other scientific domains, other sectors, development cooperation, etc.
Calls for training participants are launched on a regular basis. Please check the Open Calls page to stay up to date on active calls.
Thematic Trainings organised in the past
2nd GTI alumni workshop (November 2019)
The workshop took place in Ouidah, Benin, from 11 to 15 November 2019.
1st GTI alumni workshop (June 2016)
The 1st GTI alumni workshop took place in Cotonou, Benin, from 6 to 9 June 2016.
Programme of the 2016 alumni workshop
Current eligibility criteria
Depends on type of training, criteria are communicated when call is launched (see Open Calls page).
Application documents
Depends on type of training, application documents are posted when call is launched (see Open Calls page).
