Scientific Programming with Python: From Fundamentals to Data Analysis

Begin your journey in Python programming. Explore the capabilities of Python through trainer-led input and hands-on exercises, enabling you to begin analyzing scientific data. The workshop consists of two modules: “Fundamentals of Python” (December 1/2, 2025, trainer: Dr. Ilona Lipp) and “Python for Data Analysis and Visualization” (December 15/16, 2025, trainer: Dr. Alexander Britz).


Content und Learning Goals

The “Fundamentals of Python” module includes the following topics and learning goals:

• Overview of Python's versatility with real-world use cases
• Installation and getting started with Python: Jupyter Notebooks, Spyder, Anaconda, command line interface
• Python syntax: data types and variables, conditional statements, loops, and functions
• Reading and writing of files
• The first steps of working with data using NumPy and data visualization with Matplotlib
• BONUS: Coding with AI chat tools and copilots

The module “Python for Data Analysis and Visualization” will take your Python skills to the next level. Learn how to analyze and visualize large scientific data sets using Python, Jupyter Notebooks, and AI tools. The topics and learning objectives of the module include:

• Good programming practice: Version control with Git & Github, virtual environments
• Advanced data handling using NumPy 
• Visualization of data using Matplotlib
• Treating larger data sets with Pandas
• Advanced data analysis with AI tools such as ChatGPT and Github Copilot
• Bonus: Fitting, interpolation and filtering of data with SciPy

For this workshop, no prior programming skills are required. Just bring your laptop and (if available) a data set or programming project idea which you would like to work on.