SIMONS COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE IMBIZO (#Imbizo2026)

Application deadline: 1st July 2025 at 20:00 UTC


The Imbizo is a southern hemisphere summer school aiming to promote computational neuroscience in Africa. It will bring together international and local students under the tutelage of the world's leading experts in the field. Like its international sister courses, this three-week summer school aims to teach central ideas, methods, and practices of modern computational neuroscience through a combination of lectures and hands-on project work. Mornings will be devoted to lectures on topics across the breadth of computational neuroscience, including experimental underpinnings and machine learning analogues. The rest of the day will be spent working on research projects under the close supervision of expert tutors and faculty. Individual research projects will focus on the modeling of neurons, neural systems, behavior, the analysis of state-of-the-art neural data, and the development of theories to explain experimental observations. It also includes a week focused on neuroscience-inspired machine learning!


Who should apply?
This course is aimed at Masters and early-PhD level students, though Honors or advanced Undergraduates may also apply. Postdoctoral students who can motivate why the course would benefit them are also encouraged to apply. Students should have sufficient quantitative skills (e.g., a background in mathematics, physics, computer science, statistics, engineering, or related fields). Some knowledge of neural biology will be useful but not essential. Experimental neuroscience students are encouraged to apply but should ensure that they have a reasonable level of quantitative proficiency (i.e., at least second-year level mathematics or statistics and have done at least one course in computer programming).


Course fees and Scholarships:
Course Fee: €1,550 includes all accommodation, meals, social activities, and ground transport in Cape Town.
Thanks to our generous sponsors, significant financial assistance is available to reduce and waive fees for students, particularly for African applicants. We also hope to provide some limited travel bursaries for international students. If you need financial assistance to attend Imbizo, please state so clearly in the relevant section of your application.


Scholarships on offer:
(a) Full Scholarship includes a waived course fee (€1,550) and your economy class travel to Cape Town, which will be booked by the Imbizo.
(b) Partial Scholarship includes a waived course fee (€1,550)  and a set financial contribution towards your travel costs (paid after arrival in Cape Town). The amount will vary on a case by case basis.
(c) Course Scholarship includes a waived course fee (€1,550), but you will be responsible for booking and paying for your own travel costs to Cape Town.
Note:
(a) You must ensure you have a valid passport until at least 31st of July 2026 when applying.
(b) Visa application and related costs remain the responsibility of all accepted students.

Important dates:
Applications CLOSE : 1st July 2025 at 20:00 UTC
References SUBMITTED: 7th July 2025 at 20:00 UTC
Outcomes NOTIFIED: mid-August 2025
Accept BY: 1 week after notifications
Imbizo STARTS: 11 January 2026
Imbizo ENDS: 1 February 2026

What is an Imbizo? \ɪmˈbiːzɒ\ | Xhosa - Zulu
A gathering of the people to share knowledge.