The role of short courses and workshops in systematics postgraduate and ECR training .

Andrew Austin (University of Adelaide).        

There has been a reduction in systematics training at undergraduate level over the last 20+ years, particularly in content related to taxonomy. Because of this, the systematics group at Adelaide University, in conjunction with staff from the SA Museum and Herbarium organised the Postgraduate Training Workshop in Systematics. First run in 2009, it has been offered every two years since then. With financial support from ABRS, SASB, ASBS and Adelaide University’s Environment Institute, it has been free for the 200+ students who have attended the workshops. The course is aimed at PhD students in the first half of their candidature, with the 5-day program comprising a range of specific and general topics. The Adelaide workshop is complemented by more focused short courses such as the 2-day phylogenetics workshop run annually at Sydney University and the specialist ad hoc workshops run by the Centre for Biodiversity Analysis at ANU which focus on advanced analytical and technical methods; including phylogenomics and biodiversity informatics. This talk will provide an overview of these and other workshops and discuss their importance for postgraduate and ECR training into the future.