The months of April and May saw many visitors coming through our doors. We hosted two workshops for teachers – geneTeachers V for Agricultural Sciences teachers from the Western Cape, and geneTeachers 6 for Life Sciences teachers from the Eden and Central Karoo education district. In total, 27 teachers represented 25 schools at the workshops and participants travelled from all corners of the province – as far as Beaufort West! – allowing us to reach out even further.
geneTeachers V is a new edition to our workshop repertoire, and was aimed at developing material that can be used in future to host more workshops for both Agricultural Sciences teachers and learners.
geneTeachers 6 followed the same format as previous workshops, where the programme included a DNA extraction practical in the laboratory as well as talks on the applications of genetics in agricultural science and industry (focussing specifically on plants). We also had some new activities on the programme that were met with appreciation and enthusiasm – an interactive session discussing Punnett square examples, and a session where some of the CenGen staff members discussed their career paths that brought them to CenGen.
A few thank yous are in order:
- To DIPLOMICS who once again sponsored these initiatives and enabled us to make a difference. Have a look at their media posts on the workshops here:
- https://www.facebook.com/diplomics/posts/pfbid0UPBCNzZ6gDS6QAm6cVSvwbKUGyDFAyXryJfYz5VToTcfaFCvQYMHdeABUpyvKvfQl
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/diplomics_training-stem-capacitybuilding-activity-7062380005275648000-tR8C?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
- https://www.linkedin.com/posts/diplomics_education-opportunity-lifesciences-activity-7064194323956809730-KHLk?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
- The Western Cape subject advisors for Agricultural Science (Mr John Christoffels) and Life Sciences (Ms Gillian O’Reilly) for organising with all the participants to attend the workshops.
- Dr Annelin Molotsi, a guest lecturer from the Department of Animal Sciences at Stellenbosch University, who presented a talk at the geneTeachers V workshop.
- A BIG thank you to all of the teachers who travelled so far to attend the workshops. We truly appreciate your effort and your enthusiastic participation here, as well as the valuable work that you do every day!
