Summer internship for INdigenous peoples in Genomics

The Summer internship for INdigenous peoples in Genomics Canada (SING Canada) is an annual one-week intensive workshop designed to build Indigenous capacity and scientific literacy by training undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral, and community fellows in the basic of genomics, bioinformatics, and Indigenous and decolonial bioethics. This all expenses paid residential program invites Indigenous participants to engage in hands-on classroom, lab, and field training in genomic sciences and Indigenous knowledge. The curriculum includes an introduction to leading advances in and Indigenous approaches to genomics and its the ethical, environmental, economic, legal, and social (GE3LS) implications. We invite you to explore our site and learn more about SING Canada.

After hosting the amazing Global Indigenous Leadership in Genomics Symposium (GILGS’24) in Vancouver, we hosted the 2025 SING workshop in a completely new location. In August 2025, we co-hosted the first-ever SING Sábme workshop in the Norbotten area of Sweden. Working with partners from Uppsala University and the Gällivare forest Sámi reindeer herding community, SING Sábme applied the SING Canada Model and combined it with on-the-land cultural education grounded in Sami traditions. A key area of concern for the local reindeer herders is the impact of ‘green energy’ development on reindeer habitat, and thus was selected as the theme for the inaugural workshop. Using methods developed through our program, we coached Indigenous youth and community members in the region to think critically and engage creatively with scientific approaches in genomics and environmental monitoring so that they can help the Sami community understand their territory in even greater detail.