Genealogy Education: Institutes If you have attended more than a few genealogy society meetings, you have undoubtedly heard the terms GRIP, SLIG, Gen-Fed, or IGHR mentioned.   Either you just let the terms float by, or you were reluctant to ask what they meant. These terms describe genealogical institutes.   A genealogy institute is not the same as a genealogy conference. Genealogy institutes offer intensive courses usually lasting four and one half to five days. Conferences offer five to seven hour-long presentations daily for three or four days. The presentations may cover many different genealogy topics. Several week-long “Institutes”   are held each year. Typically, the courses are intended for intermediate to advanced genealogists.    Until 2020, these institutes were in-person events held in a hotel, conference center, or on a college campus.   Some conferences and institutes were canceled this year due to the coronavirus, others converted to online “virtual” events.   IG