Welcome to VEME - Stellenbosch Museum, 37 Ryneveld St.
Tulio de Oliveira
17:00
to
19:00
VEME Cocktail Event
Monday 21 AUGUST
08:00
to
08:30
Registration.
8:30
to
9:00
Welcome and practical instructions
M Giovanetti and E Wilkinson
9:00
to
10:30
Fundamentals of molecular evolution
E Wilkinson
10:30
to
11:00
Coffee break.
11:00
to
12:30
Constructing a proper dataset: practical
M Giovanetti and H Tegally
12:30
to
14:00
Lunch.
14:00
to
16:00
Alignment algorithms.
LA Santos
16:00
to
17:00
Coffee break + poster session.
Tuesday 22 AUGUST
8:30
to
9:30
Sequence alignments and editing: practical
LA Santos and E Wilkinson
9:30
to
10:30
Phylogenetic signal and phylogenetic noise: theory
H Schmidt
10:30
to
11:00
Coffee break.
11:00
to
12:30
Phylogenetic signal and phylogenetic noise: practical
M Giovanetti and E Wilkinson
12:30
to
13:30
Lunch.
13:30
to
14:30
Evolutionary models: theory
H. Schmidt
14:30
to
15:30
Testing evolutionary models: practical
E Wilkinson and M Giovanetti
15:30
to
16:00
Coffee break.
16:00
to
16:50
Free computer time.
All PI instructors
Wednesday 23 AUGUST
8:30
to
10:30
Methods for phylogenetic tree reconstruction
H. Schmidt
10:30
to
11:00
Coffee break.
11:00
to
12:30
Constructing phylogenetic trees: practical (NJ)
H Tegally and LA Santos
12:30
to
13:30
Lunch.
13:30
to
15:00
Hypothesis testing and ML methods
H Schmidt
15:00
to
16:00
Hypothesis testing and ML methods: practical
M Giovanetti and E Wilkinson
16:00
to
17:00
Coffee break + poster session.
Keynotes: Jan Mouton Learning Centre, Stellenbosch University, De Beer Rd.
17:30
to
18:45
Keynote 1:
Edward Holmes
18:45
to
20:00
Keynote 2:
Marion Koopmans
Thursday 24 August
8:30
to
9:30
Reconstructing ancestral states
E Wilkinson
9:30
to
10:30
Reconstructing ancestral states: practical
E Wilkinson and H Tegally
10:30
to
11:00
Coffee break.
11:00
to
12:30
Molecular Clocks and intro to phylodynamics
M Giovanetti
12:30
to
13:30
Lunch.
13:30
to
15:30
Introduction to Bayesian methods in BEAST
H Tegally and E Wilkinson
15:30
to
16:00
Coffee break.
16:00
to
17:30
Free computer time
All PI instructors
18:30
to
20:30
Course teachers dinner
Important VEME Update
2025 Workshop Cancelled
2026–2027 Secured
Dear VEME applicants,
We regret to inform you that, due to a global decline in international funding, we will need to cancel VEME2025. Despite our best efforts to secure financial support for this exceptional workshop, we were unable to obtain the necessary commitments to host the event at the Institut Pasteur de Dakar (IPD) this year.
While this is disappointing news, we are pleased to share that funding has been secured for VEME2026—and most likely for 2027 as well. The 2026 edition is expected to take place in Stellenbosch, South Africa, and the 2027 workshop in Dakar, Senegal. Both events will be supported through the CERI and IPD African Stars Fellowship Program, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. Unfortunately, these funds could not be applied to the 2025 event, as it was reliant on a different funding source.
We thank you for your patience and regret we cannot give you better news. We encourage you to apply again for next year’s VEME. Now more than ever, it is essential that our VEME training continues to prepare the next generation of scientists to respond to global health challenges.
