Apply now for the Computational Neuroscience Imbizo 2026 - application form closes July 1, 2025
Spiros Chavlis
Dear friends and colleagues,
Student applications for the next Imbizo are OPEN. Don’t let this opportunity slip by if you are hoping to join the most diverse neuroscience summer school at the most beautiful beach in the world!
If you know anyone who would benefit from an extraordinary computational neuroscience summer school, please distribute this information as widely as you can:
SIMONS COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE IMBIZO (#Imbizo2026)
11 January - 1 February 2026, Noordhoek Beach, Cape Town, South Africa
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
Information and application
Questions?
isicn.imbizo.planning [AT] gmail.com
What is an Imbizo?
\ɪmˈbiːzɒ\ | Xhosa - Zulu
A gathering of the people to share knowledge.
View our past FACULTY and TAs: https://imbizo.africa/people/
Imbizo 2026 Organizing Committee
Arif Hamid (University of Minnesota)
Adrienne Fairhall (University of Washington)
Xaq Pitkow (Carnegie Mellon University)
Emma Vaughan (Imbizo Logistics)
Spiros Chavlis (IMBB-FORTH)