Workshops and courses

A Practical Introduction to NGS Data Analysis and Variant Calling

From Quality Control and Read Mapping to DNA Variant Calling (VCF)

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Date: 24 - 26 February 2026

Timezone: Berlin

Language of instruction: English

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Advance your research with the core skills to understand NGS data, spot common pitfalls, and run essential first analyses yourself - step-by-step, beginner-friendly, and fully hands-on.

In a nutshell

  • Build the essential Linux command-line skills used in everyday NGS bioinformatics
  • Understand key NGS concepts: technology, algorithms, and file formats (FASTQ, BAM, VCF)
  • Use widely adopted open-source tools to process and inspect sequencing data
  • Perform first downstream analyses to study genetic variation (variant calling & filtering)

Contact: ecSeq Bioinformatics GmbH, Sternwartenstr. 29, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany, Email: events@ecSeq.com

Keywords: RNA-seq, DNA-seq, Variant calling, NGS analysis, Quality Control, read mapping

Venue: Hansastraße 32, 32 Hansastraße

City: München

Country: Germany

Postcode: 80686

Prerequisites:

Who is this workshop for: Biologists and data analysts who work with NGS (or plan to) and want a structured, practical entry into NGS data analysis.

Assumed knowledge: A fundamental understanding of molecular biology (DNA, RNA, gene expression, PCR, …)

Helpful but not required: Basic Linux/bioinformatics familiarity (command line, common tools). We start from the basics and guide you step-by-step.

Clarity note: You will work on the Linux command line, but this is not a programming course.

Learning objectives:

This workshop is designed to give you a solid, practical understanding of Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) with a clear focus on the bioinformatics steps that most often determine whether an analysis is trustworthy.

You will learn how to assess your own NGS data, identify common problems and error sources, and complete a first downstream analysis workflow, including DNA variant calling.

In the course we work with a real-life Illumina NGS dataset.

After 3 days, you will be able to:

  • Evaluate raw sequencing data (FASTQ) using quality control best practices
  • Perform preprocessing (adapter clipping, quality trimming) and understand why you do it
  • Map reads to a reference genome and interpret mapping quality (SAM/BAM)
  • Inspect alignments in IGV/UCSC to validate findings
  • Generate and interpret a VCF, apply basic filtering, and avoid common pitfalls

Organizer: ecSeq Bioinformatics GmbH

Eligibility:

  • First come first served

Target audience: Biologists, Molecular Biologists, geneticists, laboratory professionals

Capacity: 20

Event types:

  • Workshops and courses

Credit / Recognition: Certificate

Cost basis: Cost incurred by all

Cost: € 989.0 (EUR)

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