Feedback from our S* course participants : Overall Impressions

2003 Participants

Vishnu Bhat, India:
Lectures are available for download and one can listen it to it many times. Secondly, the discussion forums with citations are the real strengths and the clarifications of concepts raised by the participants give lot of clarity. The course is on-line and is accessible to anybody in the world. The topics are well designed and lecturers are a lot experienced in the areas. Everything is fine about the course.


Cheah Pike See, Malaysia:
I enjoyed the forum part the most. The forum has made this course so much enjoyable. Those questions from all the participants had enhanced my thoughts and enlightened me. On the other hand,i was impressed by those informative answers given by them as well. The spirit of sharing has cultivated amongst the participants and all of us benefit from that. No doubt, this is an extremely effective way of learning.


Neil Tan Gana, The Philippines:
Protein bioinformatics was highly regarded as the main discussion point for the entire lecture. 2.) Medical applications were given priority in overall tracking of the course. 3.) On-line format with downloads are a welcome approach for learning (distance education. 4.) Course interactions among students enhanced, though the desire for lecturer's participation would be highly welcome 5.) Course coordinators and TA's were around in the discussion for all the time.


Alan Wardroper, Thailand:
Pretty good. A few rough edges but I'm sure you'll work them out over time. I really enjoyed it. Most of the lectures were very well presented and the participants in the forums helpful. I'm very impressed at the amount of work that has obviously gone into setting up the course.


Senthuran Singaram, India:
This course enlightened me with the knowledge of bioinformatics which will be very much useful for my pursuing post graduation in Animal Biotechnology. The most significant strength of this course is imparting knowledge without any charge. The hospitality showed by this course organisers. The s-star .org has done a magnificent task in formulating this course, as it is very difficult to conduct such a course with all the available suites such as compiling all the lectures and processing it in such a manner that is available to the participants through the internet, the introduction of discussion forums, assessment sections, workbin, and announcements.


Xue Yangkui, China:
Good! got a broader idea of what the bioinformatics could be.


Hemali Patel, USA:
Online nature. It gives a level of flexibility to work at my own pace and make time for academics in an otherwise busy work schedule.


C.A.O. IDOWU, England:
The international participation of the lecturers and students. The relevance of the field of bioinformatics in meeting the biomedical needs of today. The level of communication provided by the IVLE system enhanced learning considerably. The range of professional and academic background of students. The technical support provided by S* was rapid and efficient to queries.


Naidu Ratnala Thulaja, Singapore:
To think that a world-class, web based education with such valued lectures is brought to your desk free of cost is impossible elsewhere. The course was wonderfully well managed. Our requests and problems were quickly and well attended to. I had a great time doing this course and thank the S* team whole heartedly for making me a fortunate participant with this fantastic experience.


Saru Sawaikar, India:
This is a very comprehensive, very informative and excellent course in bioinformatics. As one carried along with the lectures gradually we could get clear on the Basics of Bioinformatics and move upwards. I must say this is the best course i have every attended and I am thankful to S star for giving me this opportunity to be one of the privileged few for this course. Thank


Patricia Severino, Romania:
I think it is a very useful course, it is exactly what it says it is: an introduction to bioinformatics. It covers nicely major topics and provides enough information in order for us to understand what bioinformatics is all about. I enjoyed it very much and I am even a bit sad it is over. Thank you very much!


Shamshad Zarina, Pakistan:
A very good try. I am impressed by S* team and their hard work and helping us out. I enjoyed thoroughly the whole course. I have learned a whole lot of new things and recalled some old stuff I knew already. This course gave me a good chance to learn from eminent scientist in their field which I believe would be difficult for me and a lot of my fellow participants otherwise. The management of the course was great and I never had any problem. As this was an introductory course and it is difficult to give a detailed background of each topic which was covered still it provides a baseline for those who wish to choose Bioinformatics for their future studies. S* team must be congratulated to initiate this course and I am sure the team is getting hundreds of applications for enrolment. One main attraction is it's being free of charge and students from developing countries who otherwise cannot afford to pay high fee can benefit from it.

It was fun to learn with your team and all fellow participants. Thank you!I would be happy to be associated with any course in future as well. Once again, thanks a lot for all your efforts.



Elangovan M., India:
The online bioinformatics course was very useful to me; it opened the vision of application of computational tools in my research. This course will necessarily make a biologist to think in different way. This course has given a strong confidence that, if I need to discuss about an upcoming project on bioinformatics, I can do. Then this online course, has changed my style of research, I will watch lectures during my incubation, time or any break time. Especially the TAs were very helpful, discussion forum was very good and even simple question got very good answers from others. Complicated question were answered through links to articles, really very useful. I feel that S* should organise for more course with detailed more video lectures. In this digital age online course is the only choice; it really helps in bridging the latest knowledge between developing and developed countries. Even I am not able to believe that highly skillful professor from university like stanford stand before me and give lecture on such a hot topic. Though it is a one way of learning, I felt is more comfortable than a classroom lecture because, the discussion forum served as a good feedback.


Carina Sehlstedt, Sweden:
Quite good. It's been fun. A lot of work. But it was worth it. Thanks for everything. I really enjoyed the course.


Olivo Miotto,Institute of Systems Science, Singapore (ISS):
Good intro materials, some great lecturers, variety of sources from excellent universities and companies, super discussion forums with enthusiastic participants. Flexible and helpful organisers. Thank you all very much for an excellent job!!

I'd like to tell you that I am very impressed with this course- it has been useful as an experience in e-learning (part of what I do at ISS, but as a lecturer!) as well as a course in bioinformatics. It has done me a lot of good and I think you did a terrific job- not least in being so helpful whenever difficulties were encountered.Many of the participants were very lively and helpful too.Thanks for this great opportunity-



Francisco Cepillo Carrasco, Spain:
Thanks.... and my acknowledgement....to S-star.org for this oportunity to learn about the science frontiers .. to full staff (coordinators, lecturers, TA's...).. to all talented students who has helped me to overcome my knowledge shortage...I hope the final of this course means for us not the end of a stage but the begining of a great formation experience..


Nidhi:
To the series of thanks, I would like to add my thanks as well. I would like to thank the organisers of the course, the lecturers and the course co-ordinator Justin for helping us gain knowledge during the course .


Saru sawaika:
I also join you all in thanking S star organizers, course coordinator, TAs for giving us this opportunity to participate and learn so much from the course. Above all, would like to thank my peers for their active participation in the forums where we all shared and learned from each other. I have learned a lot from these forums and though was not able to aggressively participate but was a silent learner and indeed this forum was very very beneficial in clarifying the doubts and getting a better grip of the subject.I also take this opportunity to request our Coordinator & organizers that we will be very grateful if you could let us know whenever any new course shall be organized again. We all would look forward to become the participants of this unique programme and enhance our understanding and skills as a better Bioinformaticians!


T.Jyothilakshmi menon:
HI all I want to thank Justin, SSTAR alliance and NUS for giving us the chance to participate in this wonderful course on bioinformatics and to expand our m inds through discussions. Though I have not been able to participate as much in the discussions as I wanted ,yet being a silent spectator , i really enjoyed the discussions. Since Justin has said that the discussions will be open till 1st July, I hope and request that everybody continue contributing to the fora. Let us all take full advantage of this wonderful IVLE and contribute to the better understanding of bionformatics amongst all of us. Once again , thanks to all the teachers, course coordinators and fellow students amongst whom a word of appreciation for Alan who has been very helpful throughout! I would like to inform fellow students that there is a yahoo group, for all those who have participated in the previous SSTAR courses and those who are participants of the future courses, set up by a previous participant. Whosever wants to continue with discussions and postings once our IVLE membership expires, can do so through this yahoogroup.For subscribing , mail to this email address:nusalum-subscribe@yahoogroups.comThanks and all the best to alljyothi


Dattatraya Bhat:
I thank very much entire S-STAR team for providing such a good lectures, information in Bioinformatics. Thanks to all student colleagues for fruitful discussions through discussion forum.


Arin:
Seriously, it's been a fantastic experience. I sincerely thank the coordinator, the TAs and the many, many good friends with whom I had a chance to interact through the foray. I must mention my good friend Alan Wardroper, who sent me a CD full of lectures. I logged in from Calcutta, India and my dial-up connection was horribly slow. Downloading one lecture would take around three to four days even with the fastest download managers. Alan very gracefully sent me a copy of CD with all the lectures, without which I would probably not been able to complete the course.A thought that kind of spurs me to write this mail -- wouldn't it be nice if the participants are actually sent a CD from the course co-ordinators containing all the zipped lectures for their review? (This will be helpful for people like us who log in from places like Calcutta with the world's slowest dial-up connection speeds ... :). This would not only be helpful during the course, but also anytime after the course, since the CD can be potentially viewed over and over again. Also, how about posting the URL of all the archived discussions?Finally, it would be great if we can set up some discussion groups among ourselves as the alumni of this course, so that the communications continue after these discussions are formally closed .It was a great party, folks!


Satya Prasad:
Thanks a lot for a good introduction to Bioinformatics. The attempt is very sincere and I think S* is very much successful in inducing a lot of interest in Bioinformatics. The ever increasing number of participants is a proof to this. I wish all the best to one and all S* staff and participants. I am looking forward for such courses n future... :) A heartiest thanks to the organisers ,lecturers , participants ...one and all.
it has been a wonderful learning experience throughout the course ..!


Ordetta Mendoza:
This short note is a sincere appreciation and a `Big Thank You' for making this online course informative and serious. I had this wonderful opportunity of participating in this course and am extremely grateful to all of you who have increased my knowledge of the subject through lectures and questions, answers, etc. posted in the discussion forums. Although I did not have too many queries I have personally benefited from the forums. Thank you all once again


Narendar:
Thanks a lot for a good introduction to Bioinformatics. This attempt is very sincere and I think S* is very much successful in inducing a lot of interest in Bioinformatics. The ever increasing number of participants is a proof to this. I wish all the best to one and all S* staff and participants.


Dr. Daniel Man-Yuen Sze, Australia:
Thank you very much for orgainising a wonderful course. Although there mightbe some rooms for improvement in certain aspects, the course overall is veryexciting and useful.Many thanks.


Sunil kumar:
I am thankful to s-star.org for providing an excellent on line coursein bioinformatics,one of the hottest topics now a days...I learned alotof things regarding Genomics,proteomics,Mol Biology andBioinformatics.....I would like to give full marks to the IVLE forproviding an excellent course material as well as certificate which will provide the opportunity to explore this new horizon...


Amol A Mungikar, USA:
It was a great experience for me to be a part of the online course offeredby S*. I would never miss a chance in future if there is any course offered by S* again.I very sincerely thank all of you for giving me such an informative and useful experience.


Dr. Asmat Salim, Pakistan:
Its been a great effort on you and your team's part that a successful course is completed. The very important thing was that it was offered free of charge and maximum number of students could get benefit from it. As one of the beneficiary, I would like to continue my support in the future such activities. Your team deserves a big thanks!


Saru Sawaikar, India:
Thank you so much for giving me an opportunity to bepart of the course and thank you for your kind support and guidance in every step towards my successfulcompletion of this course.Would be really grateful if you would consider me forfuture bioinformatics course/ seminars please.


Atsushi Nogi, Japan:
I would like to thank you for your organizing the course excellently. I have really enjoyed the course and learned a lot from the lectures.


Dr. Megha Kadam:
thank you for offering me an opportunity to attend such an informative course. this course has provided me with a wide view and insight to the bioinformatics and its practical application. i wish that in future also there will be online courses on advanced bioinformatics and i will be happy to join them


Salma A Abdalla:
I would like to thank you and all the organizers and lecturers for designing andimplementing an online course in Bioinformatics. I found it very interestingand useful and wish you a tremendous success in future courses. I would alsorequest that if you have any other online courses planned to please let me knowas I would be very interested to participate further.Thank you and all the best.


Dr. Arindam Basu:
The S-star course was a wonderful introduction to the world of bioinformatics. It was a very informative and highly productive affair. I shall certainly be glad to be of help. I promise toll end my support to the fullest extent possible towards S* course in future.


Melaku Gedil, USA:
Thank you for the opportunity. The course was very good eye-opener for me.It set a momentum for me to further my bioinformatics skill.


Margaret Saimo-Kahwa, Uganda:
Thanks a lot for giving me the chance to participate in the course and I will be grateful for any further chances like that one. I am sorry everything was new to me but i am glad that i have benefited from the course.

2002 Participants

Dr. Richard Casey, Project Manager, Agilent Technologies, Inc. USA :
This course was an excellent introduction to bioinformatics, genomics, and proteomics. I thoroughly enjoyed the course. Having a web-based course for bioinformatics training and certification is an excellent idea. It allows people around the world to get training at their own pace and time. I hope you continue to offer the course regularly.
Dr. Stephen Y. Itoga, Professor, University of Hawaii, USA :
Excellent. It was exciting to interact with so many other people around the world.
Steffen Durinck, Student, University of Leuven, Belgium :
Very educative and a special experience! I didn't know that On-line learning could be so high quality and interesting


James E.Onyemata, Student, University of the Western Cape, South Africa :
This is a different system of learning and thus it obviously lacked some of the ingredients associated with a one on one contact thus,the reduced level of interaction is a minus other wise,it sums up as a splendid piece of programme.


Chan Szu Wei, Research Assistant, National University of Singapore :
For people that are very busy, this online course is very useful since it is very flexible when the person can acess it easily.


Amit Kumar Jain, Scientist, J. K. Agri Genetics, India
The course is excellent and I can only say that I am fortunate enough to attend the course. this was excellent opportunity for me to interact qualifified people through out the world.

Mrs Nidhi Jain : Very excellently designed and offered. I should give full marks.


Hu Bin,student, Keio University, Japan:
Its wide range of topics provide us an opportunity to gain the global view of bioinformatics. And the up-to-date knowledege is taught. Lecturers are leading researchers in each field, this also help us understanding the future of bioinformatics.


Zhu Wenhan,Fudan University, Shanghai, China :
Excellent ! I can't expect a better online course. The lectures are given in a well organized order, and the discussion forum provides we students a good place to exchange points of view. It's really nice for people from all over the world to discuss questions.
I enjoy it so much!

Dr Antoaneta Letsoalo, Lecturer, University of the North, South Africa :
Very good selection of topics and lecturers, interesting interaction between participants through the discussion forums. To me very useful.
Dr Catherine Abbott, Lecturer (Bioinformatics), University of Sydney, Australia :
The course was well managed and thought out, and the technical support was good. As I setting up my own bioinformatics programme for undergraduates it gave many ideas and allowed me to see some of the pitfalls in assessment procedures.
Hong Song, Graduate student, Tulane University, USA :
As an introductory bioinformatics course, this one provides a vast and excellent range of knowledge and point of views for the current status of bioinformatics. World renowned researchers are brought together and really give a clear and broad explanation.
Jessica Mar, student, University of Queensland, Australia :
Overall the S-star course has been brilliant! Over the past two months I have gained exposure to a wide range of topics and the experience has been both valuable and unique. I have enjoyed interacting with people from all around the world, from a variety of backgrounds and most of all, having the opportunity to learn from such reputable sources of Bioinformatics knowledge. As a result of participating, my skills, awareness and knowledge base as a future bioinformatician have certainly been heightened! Congratulations to everyone who brought the S-S* Course to fruition! In my opinion it's been a fantastic success - well done! :)
Krishnamoorthy Baskaran, Systems Analyst, National University of Singapore :
I have learned new technologies and this course impressed me to do further studies in Bioinformatics.
Dr Martin D. Lewis, Scientist, University of South Australia, Australia :
The course covered a wide range of topics, however, I was left feeling I had more of an appreciation than an understanding of bioinformatics.
Lovisa Olsson, Chemist, Karolinska Instituet :
It was a very intensive course which gave a good introduction to bioinformatics. It was more focused on proteomics and proteins than I expected. I got frustrated with the assessments when the questions was about something that was not covered in the lesson. In the beginning I thought I didn´t understood the “meaning” of some of the words. I explored many new sites thanks to the tips from other students in the discussion forum.


Dr Nauman Maqbool, Scientist, Agresearch New Zealand :
The course was informative, interactive (because of discussion forums) and above all excellent for distance learning. Overall, I quite enjoyed it and it increased my knowledge of basic (and to some extent advanced) Bioinformatics.


Robyn Otway, Graduate student, Australian National University :
I enjoyed the course and learnt alot - coming from a biology background I found it a really good introduction to computational analysis and database systems - I now understand a lot more about the programs I have been using!
Roland Tasha Masha, Graduate student, University of the Western Cape, South Africa :
It was a wonderful experience for me taking an online course for the first time.To the course proper,it was very important and educative especially having no molecular biology background.I have been inspired by it and look forward to making a career in Bioinformatics.
Suresh Kumar, International Institute of Information Technology, India :
The way the course had been organized, conducted and carried on was excellent. The entire team who had worked towards conducting the course needs to be congratulated. The best part was the prompt and immediate response for any kind of problem that was encountered during the course. The fledgling problems of interrupted videos and inaccessibility were immediately rectified by providing the download option. The way the course had been managed is indeed commendable. The choice of topics, speakers and content is also very good. Moreover, that the course is being offered free of cost is a major advantage to the students from developing countries who are striving to be in the forefront of the race towards technology. I'm very happy to have been given the opportunity to participate in the course.
Sushma Natraj, Infosys Tech Ltd, India :
The course was too good and was well planned to provide basic information in bioinformatics.
Tom Belich, Graduate Research Assistant, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Centre, USA :
I am happy and thankful I came accross this course. The caliber of the lecturers and lecture materials were excellent. I have not been able to find anything comparable to this excellent introduction. I hope this course and others like it will be offered in the future. I hope the lectures will remain online so I can acccess them again in the future.