This year’s Research Software Camp will be delivered as a multi-session event over the course of two weeks from 26 October to 6 November. Attendees are welcome to attend any of the sessions that are of interest to them, free-of-charge.
Registration opens on Wednesday 30 September via Eventbrite.
The Institute for Research Software runs the Research Software Camps (RSCs), which aim to improve coding literacy by providing attendees with tailored programmes consisting of a variety of online workshops and Bye-sized RSE sessions, as well as resources such as guides, articles, and videos around specific topics within research software. The RSC format prioritises entry-level training while also supporting the transition to intermediate skills.
Byte-sized RSE is a series of events providing key research software skills in just 1 hour! Byte-sized RSE series was originally developed by The Institute and Imperial College London in 2022 as part of the UNIVERSE-HPC project. We are currently running 6 selected episodes from the original series. Each session has a companion podcast episode in the Code for Thought podcast series.
Below, you can find an overview of the schedule for the Research Software Camp 2026. Please click on the session title to register via Eventbrite.
| Date | Time | Information & register |
|---|---|---|
| Monday 26 October | 14:00 - 17:00 | From Spreadsheet to R |
| Tuesday 27 October | 13:30 - 15:00 | Byte-sized RSE: Git Hub for Beginners |
| Wednesday 28 October | 13:30 - 15:00 | Byte-sized RSE: Intermediate Git |
| Thursday 29 October | 13:30 - 15:00 | Byte-sized RSE: Code Style, Quality & Linting |
| Date | Time | Information & register |
|---|---|---|
| Monday 2 November | 14:00 - 17:00 | Data Visualisation in Python |
| Tuesday 3 November | 13:30 - 15:00 | Byte-sized RSE: Code Review |
| Wednesday 4 November | 13:30 - 15:00 | Byte-sized RSE: Unit Testing |
| Thursday 5 November | 13:50 - 15:00 | Byte-sized RSE: Continuous Integration |
| Friday 6 November | 15:00 - 17:00 | Creación de tablas publicables y reproducibles con {gt} y Quarto |
Below, you can find the descriptions and pre-workshop requirements of the live sessions.
Monday 26 October @ 14:00 - 17:00
The Software Sustainability Institute is delighted to present the workshop “From spreadsheets to R”
From spreadsheets to R” will take place on Tuesday 11 November from 14:00 to 17:00 GMT, as part of the Research Software Camp: Careers and Skills in Research Software.
The Carpentries certified instructor and trainer, Yanina Bellini Saibene has put together this R introductory course for new or beginner coders. “From spreadsheets to R” is intended for people who use spreadsheets for data manipulation and analysis, but have never programmed and would like to learn how to work with R. This course aims to answer questions such as: "Why use R?" and "Where to start?"
Yanina will work with R in an orderly and reproducible way, using a workflow that allows those who take this course to apply good programming practices, work collaboratively and present their work in a single document that includes the analysis and the results.
Whenever she can, Yanina will indicate how the issues she proposes to solve with R can also be solved with spreadsheets and the advantages and disadvantages in each case.
Each section includes exercises and challenges together with the examples and uses some useful data sets for the problem we want to solve. These data is realistic so that anyone can find similarities with their own data and can apply what they have learned to other situations.
Pre-workshop requirements
Tuesday 27 October @ 13:30 - 15:00
Description and pre-workshop requirements TBC.
Wednesday 28 October @ 13:30 - 15:00
Basic Git training usually covers the essential concepts, such as adding files, committing changes, viewing commit history, and checking out or reverting to earlier versions. But for RSEs working in collaborative, code-intensive projects, that is just the tip of the iceberg. More detailed topics like branching and merging strategies, and understanding merge conflicts are critical for managing code across teams and maintaining clean, reproducible development workflows.
Thursday 29 October @ 13:30 - 15:00
This session introduces the importance of code style and linting in writing clean, consistent, and maintainable code. You will learn how following a defined style guide improves code readability and collaboration, and how automated tools, known as linters, can help identify and fix style issues early in the development process. We will explore common linting tools and how to integrate them into your software development workflow.
Monday 2 November @ 14:00 - 17:00
Does your visualisation tell a story? Data is continuously expanding and becoming more complex. On its own, data can feel daunting. However, through visualisation, we can transform raw numbers and text into captivating narratives. During this workshop, which is tailored for beginners, Annajiat Alim Rasel and Md Intekhabul Hafiz will assist you with the skills to use Python libraries to create a variety of visualisations, ranging from simple bar charts to intricate heatmaps.
Why Visualise Our Data?
What You'll Learn
By the end of this workshop, you'll be ready to use data visualization to tell stories with your data.
Pre-workshop requirements
A Google account for using Google Colab.
Tuesday 3 November @ 13:30 - 15:00
This session introduces key practices for effective coding and collaboration within research software projects. You will learn how to work together on code through structured approaches such as code review, understand common workflows and tools that support collaborative development, and explore the processes that help maintain code quality and team productivity. We will then take a practical look at how to carry out code reviews using GitHub, one of the most widely used platforms for collaborative software development.
Wednesday 4 November @ 13:30 - 15:00
Testing is a critical part of writing reliable, maintainable code — especially in collaborative or research environments where reproducibility and correctness are key. In this session, we will explore why testing matters, and introduce different levels of testing — from small, focused unit tests, to broader integration and system tests that check how components work together. We will also look at testing approaches such as regression testing (to ensure changes do not break existing behavior) and property-based testing (to test a wide range of inputs automatically). Finally, we will cover mocking, a technique used to isolate code during tests by simulating the behavior of external dependencies.
Thursday 5 November @ 13:30 - 15:00
Doing tasks manually can be time-consuming, error-prone, and hard to reproduce, especially as the software project’s complexity grows. Using automation allows computers to handle repetitive, structured tasks reliably, quickly, and consistently, freeing up your time for more valuable and creative work.
Friday 6 November @ 15:00 - 17:00
Las tablas son un componente central en la comunicación de resultados de investigación. Es por ello que resulta clave que su diseño garantice una comunicación precisa, favorezca la reproducibilidad y se ajuste a estándares de publicación.
En este taller, introduciremos la "gramática de tablas" usando el paquete {gt} de R. A partir de actividades prácticas, aprenderemos a configurar las distintas secciones de una tabla, a ajustar el estilo en que se muestran los datos y a incorporarlas en documentos reproducibles creados con Quarto. Al finalizar el taller, sus participantes habrán aprendido estrategias para mejorar la calidad de sus tablas e incorporarlas en flujos de trabajo reproducibles.
Requerimientos
- Una versión de R >= 4.4
- Una versión de Quarto >= 1.7.33
- Versiones recientes de los siguientes paquetes: gt, gtsummary, gtextras, broom y tidyverse.
21 September 2026: Save the Date
