Mini Course: Intro to Programming
This Mini Course will focus on teaching the basics of computer programming, using the language of Python.
In today's scientific world, it is almost required to possess some computer programming skills. In this course, we will cover as much as possible the basics of programming, using the language of Python. This language has been picked for its relative user-friendliness, but will not be explored in depth as the emphasis of this event is teaching a skill-set as transferable to other languages as possible.
This is the 6th edition of this course, armed with that experience we will make your learning experience that much better. Designing the course will be a lot easier too!
If you are interested, sign up below!
Target audience
This course is suitable for anyone, no prior experience in programming is necessary.
Teachers
The teachers will be Md Abrar Jahin (intern), Nicholas Wardhana (postdoc) and Jeremie Gillet (nerd).
Program (Sixth edition, January 2022)
The program will be as shown below. The first session is meant to help people install Python, although Anaconda makes it very simple on every platform.
| Date | Time | Topic | Teacher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, January 19 | 2PM - 3PM | [optional] Installing Python: technical support | Jeremie |
| Wednesday, January 19 | 3PM - 5PM | Intro, using Anaconda, variables, lists | Abrar |
| Friday, January 21 | 3PM - 5PM | Strings, control structures | Abrar |
| Monday, January 24 | 3PM - 5PM | Functions | Nicholas |
| Wednesday, January 26 | 3PM - 5PM | IO, Python ecosystem and practices | Jeremie |
You will find all the material used for the course here.
Program (Fifth edition, August 2020)
The teachers were Kenneth Dudley (Technican), Ankur Dhar, Vsevolod "Seva" Nikulin (PhD students) and Jeremie Gillet (nerd).
The program will be as shown below. The first session is meant to help people install Python, although Anaconda makes it very simple on every platform.
| Date | Time | Topic | Teacher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, August 5 | 9AM - 10AM | [optional] Installing Python: technical support | Jeremie |
| Wednesday, August 5 | 10AM - 12PM | Intro, using Anaconda, variables, lists | Jeremie |
| Thursday, August 6 | 10AM - 12PM | Strings, control structures | Kenneth |
| Wednesday, August 12 | 10AM - 12PM | Functions | Seva |
| Thursday, August 13 | 10AM - 12PM | IO, Python ecosystem and practices | Ankur |
You will find all the material used for the course here.
You will find the footage here.
Program (Fourth edition, March 2019)
The teachers were be Ankur Dhar, Vsevolod "Seva" Nikulin (PhD students) and Jeremie Gillet (nerd).
The program will be as shown below. The first session is meant to help people install Python, although Anaconda makes it very simple on every platform.
| Date | Time | Topic | Teacher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday, March 18 | 4PM to 5PM | [optional] Installing Python: technical support | Jeremie |
| Tuesday, March 19 | 3PM to 5PM | Intro, using Anaconda, variables, lists | Jeremie |
| Wednesday, March 20 | 3PM to 5PM | Strings, control structures | Jeremie |
| Tuesday, March 26 | 3PM to 5PM | Functions | Seva |
| Wednesday, March 27 | 3PM to 5PM | IO, Python ecosystem and practices | Ankur |
You can find the slides and coded used during the course here.
Program (Third edition, March 2018)
The teachers were Bianca Sieveritz, Ruth Thompson (PhD students), Stefano Pascarelli (intern) and Peter Bratby (postdoc).
The program will be as shown below. Learning how to program can only be achieved through practice, which is why homework will be assigned on each lesson. Make sure you complete it.
| Date | Time | Topic | Teacher |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday, March 26 | 12:30PM to 1PM | [optional] Installing Python: technical support | Jeremie |
| Monday, March 26 | 1PM to 3PM | Intro, using Anaconda, variables, lists | Ruth |
| Thursday, March 29 | 1PM to 3PM | Strings, control structures | Stefano |
| Monday, April 2 | 1PM to 3PM | Functions (in B701) | Bianca |
| Thursday, April 5 | 1PM to 3PM | IO, Python ecosystem and practices | Peter |
You can find the material (slides, code, exercices and solutions) used in this Skill Pill here.
Program (Second edition, March 2017)
A first short session will provide help with installing Python to anyone who requires it:
| Friday, March 17 | |
|---|---|
| 15:00 ~ 16:00 | Installing Python (B715) |
And the actual program will be as follows:
| Saturday, March 18 | Saturday, March 25 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00 ~ 11:00 | Data types and variables (Bianca) | 10:00 ~ 11:00 | Classes (Peter) |
| 11:15 ~ 12:15 | List manipulation (Lena) | 11:15 ~ 12:15 | String manipulation (Lena) |
| 12:15 ~13:30 | Lunch break | 12:15 ~13:30 | Lunch break |
| 13:30 ~ 15:30 | Control Structures (Clive) | 13:30 ~ 16:00 | Input and Output (Jeremie) |
| 15:45 ~ 17:30 | Functions (Peter) | 16:15 ~ 18:00 | Python scope and workflow (James) |
Program (First edition, February 2016)
The program was as follows:
| Saturday, February 13 | Saturday, February 20 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 10:00 ~ 11:00 | Data types and variables (Bianca Sieveritz) | 10:00 ~ 12:00 | Reading and Writing files (Jeremie Gillet) |
| 11:15 ~ 12:15 | List manipulation (Yuka Suzuki) | 12:00 ~13:30 | Lunch break |
| 12:15 ~13:30 | Lunch break | 13:30 ~15:30 | Numpy - Arrays and matrices (Yuka Suzuki) |
| 13:30 ~ 15:30 | Conditions, loops and functions (James Schloss) | 15:45 ~ 17:00 | Matplotlib (Bianca Sieveritz) |
| 15:45 ~ 17:30 | String manipulation (Jeremie Gillet) | 17:15 ~ 17:45 | Why use Python? (James Schloss) |
More information
- Location: B701, AKA computer lab, Lab 3.
- Zoom link: if you prefer joining remotely, or if B701 exceeds 50% capacity, you can join using this link
- What to bring: a laptop, with Anaconda installed with Python 3 (NOT 2). You can find Anaconda here. Please install those ahead of time and if you need any technical help, please show up at the first, optional session.
- Video Recording: this course might be recorded and uploaded online, only the teacher will be recorded. Contact Jeremie Gillet if you have reservations about this.
- Drinks: There will be free coffee and tea, bring your cup!
If you are interested in the course but cannot participate to this particular event, let us know and we will contact you for any later occurrence of the course.
Thank you very much for your interest.