Workshop in Laos, March 23 to 25, 2015

Training Seminar on Applied Statistical Analysis with "R" for Forestry Research & Studies

From March 23 to 25, 2015, the "Training Seminar on Applied Statistical Analysis with "R" for Forestry Research & Studies" was held in Laos. This workshop was co-sponsored and organized by Risk Analysis Research Center, ISM, and the Faculty of Forestry, National University Laos. The aim of this training workshop was, developing human resources involved in the implementation of forest resources management in Laos. It was designed to enable participants to use statistical software "R" and to hands-on, conduct various statistical analyses on data.

On the first day, the participants learned about how to install R software, and the basic commands for statistical analysis. Exercise problems were given to the participants at the end of the first day. The second day, one of the participants explained the exercises in their local language, and reviewed the topics covered on the first day. The participants then learned about data handling in R. On the last day of the workshop, the participants learned about graphics in R. The workshop ended successfully with a certificate of completion ceremony. There were a total of 43 participants. In Laos the participants included not only graduate students but faculty members from various fields of agriculture sciences and forestry. It seemed that there were the wide gaps in proficiency levels between the participants. Despite the fact that it was challenging to meet the expectations of all participants, everyone was very enthusiastic about attending the workshop and most expressed their interest looking forward to an event in the following year. The workshop was run mainly by Mr. Daovorn Thongphanh from Faculty of Forestry, National University Laos.

• Workshop participants with "Certificate of Completion"
• Introductory remarks (Prof. Atsushi Yoshimoto from ISM