SAEON Graduate Student Network

Annual GSN Conference

SAEON’s Graduate Student Network holds its own and exciting and interactive annual conference, “The Indibano” (means “meeting” in isiXhosa) which has been running since 2008. About 20 postgraduate students are selected on a highly competitive platform to present their work. These students are fully funded to attend the event with the aim of sharing their scientific research work experiences with their peers. The Indibano also offers guidance and mentorship from experienced senior researchers and increased motivation for learning through the knowledge sharing and field excursions during the conference coupled with training workshops that students are not exposed to in a university setting. 

2023

On 22 - 27 October 2023, NRF-SAEON hosted the 15th GSN Indibano in Cape Town. This year's theme was "Mountain meet Seas: Exploring environmental interactions”. Various workshops were held during the Indibano. We have made those resources available for you!

2022

On 16 – 21 October 2022 NRF-SAEON hosted the 14th GSN Indibano in partnership with the Expanded Freshwater and Terrestrial Environmental Observation Network (EFTEON) and SAEON Arid Lands Node in Kimberley, South Africa. Various workshops were held during the Indibano. We have made those resources available for you!

2021

The 13th SAEON GSN Virtual Indibano took place from the 6th-9th September 2021. The 2021 SAEON GSN Indibano, was all about making science accessible. We introduced you to Google Earth Engine and all things data – including data life cycle, longevity, creating value added products, and the SAEON data portal. We also zoomed into different layers of science. Looking at how co-engaged research and breaking the boundaries of research to encourage active participation across all members of society towards creating solutions.

2018

The 11th SAEON Graduate Student Network (GSN) Indibano proved to be time was held at Wits Rural Facility, the University of the Witwatersrand’s satellite research facility located on a 315-hectare estate of savanna woodland in the central Lowveld region of Limpopo, near the Kruger National Park from the 16th-20th September 2018. The theme of the Indibano was,"“Selling your science, selling yourself.”

2019

On September 1, delegates from all over South Africa convened at Cape St Francis Resort in the Eastern Cape for the 12th Graduate Student Network (GSN) Indibano. Indibano theme, “Our Future, Our Science – Embracing connectedness, networks and multidisciplinarity as we march towards a future of change”. All workshops were funded by the Foundational Biodiversity Information Programme (FBIP) of the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI).