Faculty of Science

Introduction to programming in R for biologists
Provider: Department of Biology

Activity no.: 5145-24-01-31	There are 24 available seats
	Enrollment deadline: 15/05/2024

Date and time	01.07.2024, at: 09:30 - 06.07.2024, at: 17:00
Regular seats	24
ECTS credits	2.50

Contact person	Josefine Bohr Brask E-mail address: jbbrask@bio.ku.dk

Enrolment Handling/Course Organiser	Josefine Bohr Brask E-mail address: jbbrask@bio.ku.dk
Written language	English
Teaching language	English

Aim and content Please note that to apply, you have to both apply via this site AND send an email.* Please see the information on how to apply at the bottom of this page.* ----------------- Programming (particularly in R) has become an essential tool in biological research, including PhD projects. But biology degrees often do not include an actual introduction to programming. The aim of this course is to provide an introduction to programming, which is accessible and designed for biologists in the field of Ecology and Evolution. Learning programming can be useful for biologists for several reasons: • Knowledge about programming is very helpful when using R (including for data analysis) • Programming is a widely useful skill • Programming is fun and for everyone! The course will focus on the following: • Key programming concepts • Programming procedures • The R programming language and the RStudio environment • How programming is used in biological research See the course website for further details. Formel requirements Participants may or may not have used R/RStudio before. Participants are expected to have no or little prior knowledge about programming. Learning outcome Knowledge • Key programming concepts, including variables, types, data structures, functions, loops, control statements, and debugging • Script development approaches • The R programming language and the RStudio environment • How programming is used in biological research Skills • Creating variables and manipulating them via subsetting and substitution • Constructing and using functions • Constructing and using loops and control statements • Error correction and debugging • Efficient script development, including using pseudocode, commenting, and structuring by functions Competences • Creating and using well-structured scripts, from planning to coding and execution • Using programming to store, manipulate and simulate biological data Target group The course is mainly aimed a PhD students in the field of Ecology & Evolution and particularly Behavioural Ecology. Others are also welcome apply (see the course website for more information). Teaching and learning methods Lectures, exercises, and group work. Lecturers Main lecturer: Dr Josefine Bohr Brask (University of Copenhagen) Guest lecturer: Dr Erin Siracusa (University of Exeter) Assistance: Prof. Elodie Briefer (University of Copenhagen) Remarks COURSE WEBSITE Please see the course website for more information about the course: https://programmingintrocph.weebly.com/ COURSE FEE There is no course fee. HOW TO APPLY The application procedure is described below. Please note that applying for the course does not guarantee you a place (as those from the target group have priority). You will be notified shortly after the course application deadline (or earlier) about whether your have got a place. To apply for the course, you need to do two things: 1) Apply via the university platform by clicking on 'Apply' above. 2) Also send an email to jbbrask@bio.ku.dk with the following information: • Your academic level (for example PhD student, postdoc, Master student, etc.) • The topic of your PhD (or other research if you are not a PhD student) • Dietary preferences (For example ‘vegan’, ‘vegetarian’, ‘gluten-free’, etc.) • Your experience with R/RStudio/programming (for example ‘I have no experience with any of this’, ‘I have run statistical tests in RStudio using code made by other people’, ‘I have made my own scripts in R but have not had a proper introduction to programming’ ‘I code in Python but have not used R’, or something else (you are welcome to provide more detail than in the examples)).

Click the search button to search Courses.

See which courses you can attend and when

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr
May	Jun	Jul	Aug
Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec

Publication of new courses
All planned PhD courses at the PhD School are visible in the course catalogue. Courses are published regularly.