This entry level course in Python is specifically tailored to humanities teachers, researchers, and students who want to learn the basics of this popular programming language. After the course, participants will be able to write simple programs using the most common structures. Led by the scientific developers of the Centre for Digital Humanities’ Research Software Lab, this hands-on training spans four Wednesdays, starting on 2 October 2024.

With electronic computers being fast and widely available, it is highly empowering to be able to program them. This is especially true in academic research, where no two projects are the same and writing custom software enables us to tailor large-scale automated analysis to our specific needs.

This course will teach basic programming in the Python programming language, which is beginner-friendly and production-ready. We will also pay attention to elementary skills that help to avoid double work, find the causes of errors quickly and make future maintenance easier. The course is hands-on, with more than half of the time allocated to practice. In week 3 & 4 of the course, you will try your hand at implementing your own analysis.

Course objectives

After concluding this four-day course, participants can:

1. write data processing algorithms using the basic techniques provided in Python;
2. reorganize their code to improve future reusability and maintainability;
3. use a stepping debugger to find the cause of an error;
4. reuse code that already exists;
5. translate the analysis they want to perform into concrete Python code.

Course schedule

This entry level course in Python spans four Wednesdays in a row. Lunch and drinks will be provided on all course days. The course schedule is as follows:

• Wednesday 2 October from 10:00-17:00 hrs
• Wednesday 9 October from 10:00-17:00 hrs
• Wednesday 16 October from 10:00-17:00 hrs
• Wednesday 23 October from 10:00-17:00 hrs

Lunch

Every course day, lunch is provided in Espressobar Lodewijk for all participants and instructors of the course. You can specify any dietary preferences you may have in the registration form below.

Level

This course aims to empower people who are new to Python and is therefore intended for absolute beginners. No previous programming experience is needed. The course will be in English.

Preparation

You should bring a laptop and prepare a dataset along with a research question. Detailed instructions will be sent shortly before the course. Working with your own dataset is also possible. Please send an email to cdh@uu.nl to discuss the possibilities.

For whom?

Due to our funding, priority will be given to teachers, researchers and students of the Faculty of Humanities at Utrecht University for this course. If you are affiliated with a different faculty or institution but interested in participating, please register to be placed on a waiting list. Notification of available spaces will be sent two weeks before the workshop.

DCU compensation

Teachers at the Faculty of Humanities (UU) completing this course will receive a DCU compensation of 30 hours, which equals 1,38 DCUs. Before registering, please discuss your participation and the DCU compensation provided with a management coordinator in your department. The CDH will automatically settle the DCU compensation with your department upon completion.

Minimum participants

In order to ensure the viability of the training and allocate the necessary resources, a minimum of ten registrations is required for this course to proceed. We will inform all registered participants of the status two weeks in advance, confirming whether the course will definitively take place.

Registration

Please complete the registration form below if you wish to sign up for this course. Register early to secure your place, as spots are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

If you find yourself unable to attend after completing registration, we kindly request that you cancel your registration by sending an email to cdh@uu.nl, allowing us to offer the spot to another participant. Thank you for your cooperation.