Free Workshops & Events, Fall 2025

Posted on by emwin

We’re excited to share this fall’s lineup of workshops and events! Check out our new GIS-related events and services, courtesy of our newest team member, Chelsea Nestel.

The Data Services Help Desk will be open for drop-in statistical and programming support 11:00am – 4:00pm M-F starting in October!

Want help now? We’re always available for consultations on statistics, R, Python, GIS software, information design, Git, Excel, Qualtrics, data management, high-performance computing and qualitative data analysis.

Workshops

Introduction to R

This eight-session workshop introduces the fundamentals of using R and RStudio. Crunch through statistics and create visualizations with ease!

Introduction to Python

Want to learn to code but not sure where to start? This eight-session workshop introduces fundamentals of Python, an accessible and powerful programming language.

Introduction to ArcGIS Online

New! This one-session workshop covers the basics of creating maps in ArcGIS Online, a browser-based GIS platform. Learn mapping skills through creating an environmental justice map. Attend October 8th or the repeat offering on October 22nd.

Introduction to QGIS

New! This three-session workshop covers the basics of working with geographic data to make maps in QGIS, a free, open-source GIS tool.

Introduction to High-Performance Computing

This comprehensive introduction to high-performance computing prepares attendees to use Talapas, UO’s supercomputer. Learn Bash, Slurm, and how to use popular apps like RStudio and JupyterLab on the cluster.

GIS and the Makerspace

New! This fun, unique two-part workshop covers the basics of ArcGIS Pro and laser-cutting equipment in the makerspace. Learn GIS by making beautiful acrylic maps!

Wrangling Data with Python

Designed to follow our Introduction to Python workshop, this four-session workshop teaches how to analyze, and visualize tabular data with Pandas in Python.

GitHub Desktop: Collaborative Coding for Beginners

New! Interested in software development? Not sure how coders use GitHub? Learn the basics of the version control through the GitHub Desktop app in this interactive workshop.

Social Events and Talks

Coffee & Code

Coffee & Code is a casual event that brings together curious minds to explore interesting projects and questions in the world of data analysis and statistics at UO.

Meet Data Services

Interested in programming, statistics, or geospatial data? Ease into the new academic year and chat with members of Data Services team over coffee and cookies.

Analyzing Library Data with Python and Quarto: Undergraduate Project Spotlight

Data Science major and Data Services intern Calista Gerard will give a short talk on their Python data processing project for analyzing library data followed by a Q&A session.

Data Book Club: Ethan Mollick’s Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI

Join us as we read and discuss Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan Mollick, an exploration of AI as co-worker, co-teacher, and coach. Snacks and great conversation provided!

Cheers,

The Data Services Team

Free Workshops & Events, Winter 2025

Posted on by Gabriele Hayden

We’re excited to share our lineup of workshops and events for Winter Term 2025! Whether you’re eager to learn new skills, connect with fellow data lovers, or explore cutting-edge topics like data ethics, we’ve got something for everyone.

Interactive Workshops

Introduction to R
This eight-session workshop will introduce you to the fundamentals of using R!
Twice weekly starting Monday, January 13, 2025

Introduction to Python
This ten-session hybrid workshop will introduce you to the fundamentals of programming in Python through interactive programming exercises.
Twice weekly starting Monday, January 13, 2025

Wrangling Data with Python in Pandas
Develop the skills to clean, analyze, and visualize tabular data with the popular package Pandas through hands-on exercises with real data in Python.
Twice weekly starting Monday, February 24, 2025.

Research Tools & Professional Development

Introduction to Zotero
Join our research librarian colleagues for a one-hour workshop where you’ll learn to navigate Zotero, a free, open-source citation management tool designed to simplify your research process.
Thursday, January 16, 2025

GitHub Portfolios for Job Seekers
Learn how to create a free digital portfolio on GitHub to highlight your coding and career readiness skills for future employers & open-source projects.
Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Introduction to High Performance-Computing
These free, interactive workshops will introduce UNIX commands, bash scripting, file management, OnDemand, Slurm, JupyterLab integration, and other best practices for working on Talapas, UO’s high performance computing cluster.
Starts Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Introduction to Qualtrics
This workshop will introduce you to the fundamentals of online data collection, walk you through setting up your first project in Qualtrics, and guide you on what to do with the data you gather.
Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Community Learning Opportunities & Peer Connections

Coffee + Data & Code Sessions 

Coffee + Data && Code is a casual event that brings together curious minds to explore interesting projects and questions in the world of data analysis and statistics at UO. Each session features a talk or conversation on research, a project, or a topic in the data world.

January 10th: Hannah Waight on AI and State Propaganda
Sociology Professor Hannah Waight will be giving a talk on the influence of propaganda on large language models (LLMs) in the context of Chinese state media. Her research suggests there may be strategic incentives for states and other actors to increase the prevalence of propaganda in the future as generative AI becomes more ubiquitous.

January 24th: Sheldon Sandbekkhaug on Software Engineering for New Graduates
Google Staff Software Sheldon Sandbekkhaug will lead a casual chat about what’s he learned about software engineering from his nine years at Google and his advice for undergraduates entering the profession.

Coding Circles 
Have a tangle in your coding project? Want to chat about programming projects in a casual environment? Come to coding circle to work it out over snacks.  

Book Club: The Promise of Access

Join us this winter in reading and discussing The Promise of Access. This book examines the paradoxical relationship between digital technology and economic inequality. Drawing on ethnographic research, it explores how institutions like schools, libraries, and startups perpetuate the dream of technological empowerment while ignoring the systemic issues that sustain inequality.

Ready to Join Us?

Whether you’re taking your first steps in data science or advancing your expertise, these events offer valuable opportunities to:
– Develop practical skills
– Connect with fellow data enthusiasts
– Engage with cutting-edge topics
– Build your professional network

👉 View all events and register here!

We can’t wait to learn and grow with you this winter!

Best,
The Data Services Team

Fall 2024 Data Services Workshops and Events

Posted on by Gabriele Hayden

We are thrilled to share a packed events calendar for Data Services with all the events you need to start this year off right! 

Help Desk and Consultations

The Data Services Help Desk is available 11am – 4pm in the DREAM Lab on weekdays. We offer drop-in support for statistics, data analysis, R, and Python.

Looking for help on specialized topics like data management, statistics, or Talapas? You can schedule a 30-minute appointment for your topic in-person or online. We are happy to work with anyone in the UO community one-on-one or in a small group to tackle your challenges. 

Have a question for a High Performance Computing admin? Our colleagues in Research Advanced Computing Services (RACS) will be hosting drop-in office hours in 112C in the DREAM Lab, 1pm – 3pm on Wednesdays.

Workshops

One-Day Programming Bootcamps: Saturday, Oct 12

These all-day workshops will introduce you to the fundamentals of Python or R. Come in over the weekend, come out with a new programming language! Light lunch will be provided.

Python Bootcamp

R Bootcamp

Weekday Workshops

Introduction to Python

A ten-session, interactive course that will help you develop core Python programming skills. No experience required!

Introduction to R

This eight-session course will introduce you to the fundamentals of using R! Intended for absolute beginners or anyone wanting to review the basics.

A Gentle Introduction to Git and GitHub

Version control demystified! Learn how to create repositories, commit changes, examine file history, navigate branches, and publish to GitHub.

Introduction to Qualtrics

If you’re conducting surveys, then you want to learn all about Qualtrics! This workshop will introduce the basics of online data collection, setting up projects, and exporting survey data. 

Wrangling Data with Python

Already taken our Python course? This four-part workshop will teach you to analyze and visualize tabular data in Python by working through hands-on exercises with real data. 

Friday Social Events

Data Bookclub: Data Cartels by Sarah Lamdan

Join as we and discuss this book on the fascinating world of data monopolies and the hidden power dynamics that are shaping our world.

Coffee + Data && Code

An informal space for presentations and conversations about topics in data science! Learn new tips and tricks and get to know other people interested in coding over coffee and snacks.

Coding Circle

Have a tangle in your coding project? Come to coding circle to work it out! An informal and inclusive co-working session for anyone working with data or code.

Have any questions about our offerings? Reach out to us at DataServices@uoregon.edu.

Kendrah Adams: My Time as a Vollstedt Intern

Posted on by kendraha

In my year-long Vollstedt intern position, I served as a Learning Resources Specialist with the library’s Data Services department. In this position, I’ve gotten the opportunity to create many different learning objects. For example, I got to create LibGuide pages on how to download and install software and integrated development environments (IDEs) like R and R Studio. I also had the opportunity to create modules in Articulate Rise on how to use databases’ clipboard functions or how to add items to a Zotero library. Culminating in all that I learned was my creation of a module on how to use Microsoft Support to find documentation on converting or saving a file as a PDF. Through all of these projects, I learned a lot about instructional design.

Instructional design, in short, is the creation of learning objects. To create learning objects, I’ve realized that you have to be ready to conduct research, effectively communicate with subject matter experts (SMEs) and clients, and have a desire to help others. By communicating with my SMEs and clients, I conducted needs analyses by asking insightful questions about the learning gap I was trying to fill. I also learned to make the information I provided clear and concise. I was not able to speak with students directly to get a good idea of their gaps, so I had to make sure I was asking the right questions of my SMEs and clients. Because of this, I realized early on that feedback was an essential part of the instructional design process, and one I appreciated greatly.

I am incredibly grateful for the skills I have developed, and traits I have strengthened, through this internship. I have become a much more effective communicator, I can take feedback with grace and push back as needed, and I have much more empathy for the end user/learner when creating learning objects. I have also learned how to use the popular ID tool Articulate Rise to create modules and courses from templates and from scratch. This internship has helped me crystallize that I am passionate about instructional design. I am very proud of the work I’ve been able to produce thus far and am excited to see what I will be able to create in the future.

Introduction to High Performance Computing

Posted on by kendraha

UO Libraries, Research Advanced Computer Services (RACS), and the Lewis Center for Neuroimaging are pleased to announce our pilot Introduction to High Performance Computing workshop series. Targeted towards graduate students interested in conducting computational research, these interactive workshops will introduce UNIX commands, bash scripting, file management, OnDemand, Slurm, JupyterLab integration, and other best practices for working on Talapas, UO’s high performance computing cluster. Learn from experts in high performance computing and neuroscience!

No prior experience with the command line or high-performance computing is required, though experience with a programming language like Python or R will be helpful.

Schedule

·         Monday, September 9th – Introduction to UNIX and Bash (Erin Winter, UO Libraries)

·         Wednesday, September 11th – Bash Scripting, UNIX Permissions, Getting to Talapas (Erin Winter, UO Libraries)

·         Friday, September 13th – Talapas Essentials: PIRGS, Slurm, Modules, and Partitions (William Winter, RACS)

·         Monday, September 16th – Talapas for Researchers: OnDemand, JupyterLab, Environments, and File Management (Jolinda Smith, LCN) 

·         Wednesday, September 18th – [OPTIONAL] Office Hours while Talapas is down for maintenance

·         Friday, September 20th – Applications of High Performance Computing (TBA)

Interested? Bring a laptop with the operating system of your choice to the DREAM Lab.

Feel free to drop in on sessions that seem most relevant to you. In order to make sure every participant can access Talapas during workshop sessions, advance registration is required.