R workshops aRen’t on hold

CIDRI-Africa biostatistician Olina Ngwenya, determined not to let down her prospective course attendees, adapted to our new reality by transitioning her R workshops to an online learning format. In-person gatherings were prohibited when the COVID-19 pandemic lead to lockdown in South Africa in late March. Although the lockdown has now eased, the University of Cape Town continues to take a cautious phased approach to the return of staff and students to campus.

Olina has now held almost half of her workshops online this year. Her four online courses have attracted between 5 and 10 participants each, with an overall total of 31 people reached. Despite technical hiccups such as disrupted connections, participants expressed gratitude that they were able to attend the courses, but still look forward to a return to the more interactive in-person format. Olina continued to be impressed by the creative solutions developed by the participants as they mastered R.

Olina provides statistical analysis support for students and researchers, R workshops and biostatistical training, clinical trials analysis, and has been supporting the Western Cape Department of Health’s COVID-19 analysis. She will be hosting an intermediate level R workshop later this year, with potential for an advanced course as well. Keep an eye on our Events page for workshop announcements and registration details.