BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:icalendar-ruby CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260407T174831Z UID:e2756e53-d4fa-456d-9694-60ac3796d32c DTSTART:20260916T090000Z DTEND:20260918T170000Z DESCRIPTION:# Overview\nHave you ever been stuck with a file format that do esn't precisely conform to your needs\, found yourself doing annoyingly re petitive data manipulations\, or struggled to efficiently manage and explo re your data? Python to the rescue!\n\n[Python](https://www.python.org/) i s an open-source and general-purpose scripting language which runs on all major operating systems. It was designed to be easily read and written wit h comparatively simple syntax\, and is thus a good choice for beginners in programming. Python is applied in many disciplines and is one of the most common languages for bioinformatics. The Python community enthusiasticall y maintains a rich collection of libraries/modules for everything from web development to machine learning. Other programming languages such as R ha ve comparable functionality to Python\, however some tasks are more natura l (and easier!) in Python.\n\nIn this 3-day course\, participants will lea rn the basic concepts and data structures necessary to solve routine data manipulation tasks. Importantly\, we will cover the concepts\, terminology \, and approach to documentation required to further develop skills in Pyt hon programming independently. The goal is to take control of your researc h questions in an independent manner.\n\nTopics include:\n\n* A basic intr oduction to Python scripting and computing in general\n* Creating\, popula ting\, and modifying data structures\n* Working with files : reading / wri ting\n* Installing / Importing libraries/modules\n* Writing functions\n* B est practices in Python programming\n* Debugging and documentation\n\n# Au dience\nThis course is designed for PhD students\, postdoctoral and other researchers in the life sciences from both academia and industry who want to become familiar with writing Python code to accomplish common tasks suc h as automated data parsing\, basic statistical operations and graphical r epresentations.\n\nFor people who are proficient in programming\, this cou rse might be on the **slow side** for you and an intermediate Python class is recommended (check regularly our upcoming training courses).\n\n# Lear ning objectives\n\nAt the end of the course\, the participants are expecte d to:\n\n* Create\, populate\, and modify data structures\n* Work with fil es: read and write files\n* Install and import libraries and modules\n* Wr ite functions\n* Apply best practices in Python programming\n* Debug and d ocument your own code\n\nYou will thus be prepared to learn more advanced bioinformatics-specific applications in forthcoming courses.\n\n# Prerequi sites\n### Knowledge / competencies\nThis course is designed for beginners \; there is no requirement for previous training in Python. However\, we e ncourage completion of our "First Steps with UNIX" course or our [UNIX fun damentals](https://edu.sib.swiss/pluginfile.php/2878/mod_resource/content/ 4/couselab-html/content.html) e-learning module. Basic concepts of algorit hmics is a plus.\n### Technical\nYou are required to have your own laptop. We will be working with Python managed by Anaconda - a free and operating system (OS)-agnostic platform for organizing Python libraries and environ ments. It is bundled with Anaconda Navigator\, a graphical user interface which will help ease you into what Python makes possible. We will discuss in detail what all of this precisely means during the course. In preparati on\, all you have to do is download and install Anaconda for your particul ar OS. Use any most recent version of Python (>\;= 3.7). If your disk s pace is limited\, you can install Miniconda instead. However this lacks th e Anaconda Navigator GUI and many of the packages distributed with Anacond a.\n\nWe will also be interacting with Python via the Jupyter notebook int erface and we ask that you install Jupyter notebook\, via conda.\n\n\n# Ap plication\n\n\n\nRegistration fees are **300 CHF** for academics and **150 0 CHF** for for-profit companies.\n\nWhile participants are registered on a first come\, first served basis\, exceptions may be made to ensure diver sity and equity\, which may increase the time before your registration is confirmed.\n\nApplications will close on **08/09/2026** or as soon as the places will be filled up. Deadline for free-of-charge cancellation is set to **08/09/2026**. Cancellation after this date will not be reimbursed. \n \nYou will be informed by email of your registration confirmation. Upon re ception of the confirmation email\, participants will be asked to confirm attendance by paying the fees within 5 days.\n\n\n# Venue and Time\nThe co urse will take place at the University of Basel.\n\nThe course starts at 9 :15 and end around 17:15. A social apero might be organised at the end of the first day (TBC).\n\nPrecise information will be provided to the regist ered participants in due time.\n\n# Additional information\nCoordination: Monique Zahn\, SIB Training group.\n\nWe will recommend 0.75 ECTS credits for this course (given a passed exam at the end of the course).\n\nYou ar e welcome to register to the SIB courses mailing list to be informed of al l future courses and workshops\, as well as all important deadlines using the form [here](https://lists.sib.swiss/postorius/lists/courses.lists.sib. swiss/).\n\nPlease note that participation in SIB courses is subject to ou r [general conditions](https://www.sib.swiss/training/terms-and-conditions ).\n\nSIB abides by the [ELIXIR Code of Conduct](https://elixir-europe.org /events/code-of-conduct). Participants of SIB courses are also required to abide by the same code.\n\nFor more information\, please contact [trainin g@sib.swiss](mailto://training@sib.swiss). SUMMARY:First Steps with Python in Life Sciences URL;VALUE=URI:https://www.sib.swiss/training/course/20260916_FSWPY END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR