Workshops and further support

Hands on workshops

Hands on workshops are a great way to pick up spatial analysis skills in a communal environment, with access to a pre-prepared analysis environment and dataset, with ability to talk to the trainers who are working in this field.

Such workshops are regularly delivered for the Australian research community through a few different avenues. Check these links for upcoming sessions:

• Biocommons Workshops: Australia-wide, covering a wide array of bioinformatics analyses, including spatial transcriptomics. Past webinars are also available online. These workshops are often very popular and can fill up, so registration is essential!
• QCIF Digitial Research workshops: QCIF offers a regular calendar of bioinformatics, statistics, AI and programming workshops. Spatial transcriptomics and single cell transcriptomics are in the rotation. Registration again essential!

Access to compute

Spatial transcriptomics analyses tend have moderate computational needs and a high degree of interactivity. They can need more ram that is available on a typical laptop or desktop computer, and the continuous need to check and evaluate results makes them ill suited to traditional HPC. A shared managed R server may be available in bioinformatics-focussed groups, but not every bioinformatician has that.

Here is guide to accessing compute and setting up a machine for spatial analysis, via use of the BioShell service.

Self Directed learning

Many of these workshops share their material online and can be used directly - a recommended selection of online material is described in the tutorials section

Direct Support

Much of this material has been developed at QCIF Digital research via support and funding from the Australian Biocommons workflow commons program.

QCIF Digital research can provide provide you with further supports in several ways. These services are available to all, and are subsidised for QCIF’s member organisations - you can check if you’re at one of the member organisations here. As of 2026 that’ includes; QUT, GU, JCU, CQU, UniSC, SCU, Bond and Malaghan

• Consulting Support: Guidance on experimental design, statistical or bioinformatics analysis plans, and results interpretation. If you have a question about your research at any stage of the process, get in touch! Go to the form and ‘Log a advice enquiry..’. Researchers and PhD students at our member universities have access to extended consultation support (fully subsidised!: Select ‘Member’s support’.)
• Bioinformatics Consulting: Project analysis: Flexible resourcing aligned to workload and budget. QCIF staff can work on a fee-for-service model, provided as a fractional FTE contribution over a period of time or per days . Enquire here
• Bioinformatics Accelerator A structured mentoring program that builds robust bioinformatics analytical thinking Bioinformatics accelerator - one-on-one project guidance and expert advice for PhD students and researchers who are development bioinformatics analysis skills, including spatial and single cell analyses! Program details,apply here

Extensive collaboration from the University of Sydney’s Sydney Informatics Hub (SIH) has also enabled training - material development and delivery, and streamlined compute environments via bioshell.

• Bioshell: Compute environments for training and bioinformatics analysis.
• SIH contact