“Let’s not waste more time before we fully recognize that training is the key to accelerate progress in neuroscience.
The Cajal Programme is taking the lead in revolutionizing neuroscience training to provide better, faster, and larger access to technological methods and tools.
Join us in this endeavor.”
The Cajal Programme is developing a new and much needed training initiative called the NeuroKit curriculum.
Why?
Although technological progress in neuroscience is making major leaps and has incredible potential, spreading of expertise and skills remains in the hands of too few labs. As a consequence, neuroscience progress remains slow and neuroscientist struggles to deliver the much needed breakthroughs. To overcome this, we need to find a new way to better train neuroscientists at a much larger and quicker scale, offer a constantly updated curriculum, and facilitate the organization of local high-quality courses to provide access to anyone.
What?
Our aim is to create the first core curriculum on foundational experimental neuroscience to empower young researchers and equipped them with all the modern neuroscience technology skills they need to allow them to make the breakthroughs that could revolutionize our understanding of the brain in health and disease. No such a complete and tailored curriculum that provides hardware and software experience is currently available.
Where?
We believe that anyone from anywhere should have access to the best training available. For this, we carefully develop course materials based on real lab equipment that can be easily shipped anywhere in the world, and course content that can be easily shared.
Who
Our courses are targeted to any young neuroscientist that wants to start a career in neuroscience. We believe that these courses should be part of any master, or PhD program, so that many more neuroscientists can receive the best training available and be connected with a large neuroscience of experts who can provide technical support throughout their careers. Become a partner and run local NeuroKits. Find here who is already a local partner.
How
No one can make a revolution alone. Therefore, we are looking for forward-looking, visionary organizations, foundations, institutes, etc.), that share our mission. Please get in contact with us (info@cajal-training.org).
Here you can find who is already supporting us.
WHY?
Although technological progress in neuroscience is making major leaps and has incredible potential, spreading of expertise and skills remains in the hands of too few labs. As a consequence, neuroscience progress remains slow and neuroscientist struggles to deliver the much needed breakthroughs. To overcome this, we need to find a new way to better train neuroscientists at a much larger and quicker scale, offer a constantly updated curriculum, and facilitate the organization of local high-quality courses to provide access to anyone.
WHAT?
Our aim is to create the first core curriculum on foundational experimental neuroscience to empower young researchers and equipped them with all the modern neuroscience technology skills they need to allow them to make the breakthroughs that could revolutionize our understanding of the brain in health and disease. No such a complete and tailored curriculum that provides hardware and software experience is currently available.
WHERE?
We believe that anyone from anywhere should have access to the best training available. For this, we carefully develop course materials based on real lab equipment that can be easily shipped anywhere in the world, and course content that can be easily shared.
WHO?
Our courses are targeted to any young neuroscientist that wants to start a career in neuroscience. We believe that these courses should be part of any master, or PhD program, so that many more neuroscientists can receive the best training available and be connected with a large neuroscience of experts who can provide technical support throughout their careers. Become a partner and run local NeuroKits. Find here who is already a local partner.
HOW?
No one can make a revolution alone. Therefore, we are looking for forward-looking, visionary organizations, foundations, institutes, etc.), that share our mission. Please get in contact with us (info@cajal-training.org).
Here you can find who is already supporting us.
The NeuroKits courses combine the benefits of a practical and hands-on course with the online tutoring and training format. This is achieved by sending neuroscientists throughout the world an experimental box containing all the material prior to the course.
Curriculum: there is no such curriculum available that provides hardware and software skill on the main fundamental technologies of neuroscience. Participants can build their own equipment, record their data and analyze them under the guidance of an expert faculty comprising international renowned neuroscientist. Materials and topics are constantly updated to cover latest technologies.
Audience: these courses are mainly targeted for master and first year PhD students to provide a full broad knowledge of basic neuroscience tools.
Duration: each NeuroKit course lasts 1 week. A course project designed by the students is requested to complete the course and is submitted after the end of the course. During this time, students continue to receive feedback from the faculty through an online platform.
Schedule: participants watch at their own pace online recorded lectures in the morning, and join an online, or local, faculty in the afternoon, who provides teaching, tutoring and feedback on the exercises.
Certificate: participants receive a certificate and equivalent ECSTs credits.
Now, more than ever, there is a need to create and distribute a standardized, and constantly updated curriculum to all neuroscience students, to match new advances in the field. The goal of this curriculum is to teach ALL the fundamentals of state-of-the-art technology for acquiring neuroscience data (electrical, optical, and behavioural) and the computational skills for data analysis, which students require to interpret and interrogate their results.
1. Practicality: students receive hands-on training with real lab technology to build data acquisition systems. The hands-on component is fundamental for in-depth applied knowledge.
2. Relevance: the coupling between the data acquired and the computational methods used to analyse the data encourages students to invest the time to acquire these vital digital skills.
3. Scalability: the high-quality recorded lectures and online content are reusable, allowing students from all over the world to receive the same outstanding training.
4. Accessibility: the physical components are standardized and shared across kits, which allows us to greatly reduce the cost per student.
5. Social Experience: a large community of international young researchers and experts in the field can be connected together through an online platform, sharing a common curriculum and the same physical materials.
6. Up-to-date: online lectures and hands-on materials are constantly updated by an international faculty of experts in the field, but also by the many international partners. This will guarantee that new local technological advances are also promptly integrated in the curriculum.
Hardware and software skills
Each NeuroKits allows researchers to design and implement their own experimental hardware, and analyse the data recorded. The comination of hands-on and computtaional skills guarantees a full understanding and the ability to troubleshoot and generate new technology. The Cajal Programme is currently developing 4 NeuroKits to cover the foundation of neuroscience education.
One of the unique features of the NeuroKits is that students receive training on how to analyze their own data acquired by the instruments designed and built during each NeuroKit. For this, each NeuroKit is coupled with its own computational module. These modules span from introduction to the fundamentals of programming and data analysis, to machine learning and AI tools.
1. Experimental Neuroscience Bootcamp
Hardware – After an introduction to computers (hardware, software) you will be able to build your own intelligent robot. A first version of this course has already been developed. You can find more information here about the course.
Software – Introduction to computers: you will learn the fundamentals of programming.
2. Extracellular Electrophysiology Acquisition
Hardware – You will start learn the basics of electrophysiology by building your own EMG, EEG system. A first version of this course has already been developed, see more information here.
Software – Signal Processing: you will receive an introduction to 1Dimension digital signal analysis.
3. Imaging and Optics
Hardware – You will learn all about essential optical techniques while build a microscope. We are in the process of developing this course, get in touch if you want to help.
Software – Image Processing: you will receive an introduction to 2Dimension digital image analysis.
4. Behavioural tool and analysis
Hardware – You will learn about modern tools for behaviour assay design while building psychophysics experiment. We are testing a first version of this course, which is currently split into two courses: Visual reactive programming – bonsai and Modern Approaches to Behavioural Analysis.
Software – Machine learning/AI tools: you will learned modern machine learning methods for neuroscience.
Organizing a local course will allow any partner to run their own courses at their own time, while also joining a large community of students and instructors that can support their training programme.
Any partner will also be able to participate in the development and updating of the curriculum and materials.
Furthermore, the Cajal will also organize regular synchronous programmes, in which independent cohorts of students from partner institutes will be bale to join simultaneously, thus creating the first and largest International Neuroscience School.
How to run local NeuroKits
On behalf of the Cajal Programme, thank you for your help in organizing local NeuroKits and help us to spread experimental neuroscience knowledge all around the world!
The first thing you need to do is fill in this form, so you can become a NeuroKit partner (see list of the partners so far).
The Cajal Programme will make available with all the partners the full curriculum to both individuals and institutions. This includes access to online materials (video lectures, tutorials, and worksheets) and the physical materials (NeuroKits).
To guarantee the high standards of the course, we ask that at least one of the local trainees has participated in the NeuroKits, or has ben trained by the NeuroKit faculty.
Partners can run local NeuroKit courses at their own time. What we ask is that they notify us of the course, so we can add the course on our website, provide online support if needed, get instructors and participants credit for their teaching and certificates (e.g. ECFTs credits).
To better understand the process of organizing a local course, please read here the checklist.
“This was the most engaging course I ever took part in. I strongly recommend it to everyone interested.”
Extracellular Electrophysiology Acquisition, Neurokit participant
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“The course was fantastic. In just one week, we got to build our own acquisition systems and record EMGs at home! I am really glad to have participated.”
Extracellular Electrophysiology Acquisition, Neurokit participant
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“A breathless challenge, surprise and inspiration!”
Experimental Neuroscience Bootcamp Neurokit participant
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“I would recommend this multi-disciplinary course to our neuroscience community, what I’ve learned here can’t be got from anywhere else.”
Experimental Neurosciecne Bootcamp Neurokit participant
