Laboratoire de Biomathmatiques post

Laboratoire de Biomathématiques et d'Estimations Forestières (LABEF), in collaboration with Sub-Saharan Africa Advanced Consortium for Biostatistics (SSACAB II), hosted a large public seminar themed “Biostatistics: Concepts, Applications, and Professional Perspectives” at the Idriss Déby Amphitheatre, University of Abomey-Calavi LABEF in Benin on Saturday. The event brought together nearly 200 participants from academic, scientific, and professional communities. Its objectives were to demystify biostatistics as a discipline, to showcase the diversity of academic and professional career pathways it enables, and to create meaningful connections between learners, students, and established professionals.

Building biostatistics and data science capacity in Africa is not only about advanced training programmes and research outputs. It also depends on visibility, understanding, and aspiration. SSACAB is committed to ensuring that students, early-career researchers, and professionals can see themselves in these fields and understand the pathways available to them. Opening remarks from leaders across the university and research ecosystem — including representatives from SSACAB, LABEF, the Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, and the university’s research leadership — emphasised the growing importance of biostatistics in health, agriculture, and development decision-making across the continent.

Crucially, the seminar moved beyond theory. Interactive discussions and testimonials from alumni of the Master’s programme in Biostatistics—Dovonou Fortuné, kandala desire, Carine MINABA, and Surya N. L AHAMIDE—as well as the PhD programme in Biometry at the University of Abomey-Calavi— KANGELA MATAZI Alain, Elysee Tshiama Kabongo, and Midokpè Merveille Essetcheou—and postdoctoral student Dr Souand Tahi, gave participants a grounded view of what careers in these fields actually look like and why they matter.