Events

Apply for a local event grant. Applications close on 6 July 2025

Date: 19.09.25
Start time: 09:00
End time: 17:00
Where: Online

* This course contributes to the Royal Society of Biology's Industry Skills Certificate

Overview

Computing is essential for today's biologists. Being able to code will help you handle large amounts of data or to build mathematical models of biological systems.

This one-day beginner-level course will introduce you to the basics of working with Python through the popular Jupyter system.

Who is the course for?

Students (at any level) and researchers at any career stage in biology and related areas of science and medicine.

No previous coding experience is required or assumed.

Attendees will be working on their own computer. Attendees will need to install applications on their own computer before the course. Details of this will be provided ahead of the course date. Any laptop or operating system is suitable.

What does the course cover?

Morning: The Basics of Python

An introduction to Python and Jupyter: from the basics to writing simple functions.

This part of the course will involve short tutorials alongside practical and relevant exercises. We will introduce you to variables, data types, lists, loops and conditionals, as well as built-in and online resources for you to explore outside the course.

Afternoon: The Practical Applications of Python

This part of the course will introduce important modules: NumPy, SciPy, Pandas and Seaborn.

You will learn how to read in datasets and carry out simple plotting and statistical analysis. You will gain hands-on experience with the modules mentioned above.

Who are the course tutors?

Andrew Meade is an associate professor in computational biology at the University of Reading, where he has developed evolutionary models over the past y25 ears. He has taught computational biology for the past 15 years. He has expertise in C, Python, OpenMP and MPI. He has published over 40 peer-reviewed papers including 13 in Nature, Science or PNAS, which have been cited over 8000 times.

Jo Baker is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Reading funded by the Leverhulme Trust. She is an evolutionary biologist, but her expertise in the use and development of phylogenetic comparative approaches alongside her interest in genotypic-phenotypic associations provides a bridge between researchers spanning disparate disciplines, from medicine and morphology to ecology and palaeontology. She is regularly invited to develop and teach workshops at various academic levels for phylogenetic comparative analysis, statistical approaches, and programming in R, Python, and Perl.

Certification and Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

A certificate of attendance will be provided after the event. This course has been approved for purposes of CPD and can be counted as 21 CPD points.

Fees

Members - £140 + 20% VAT
Non-members - £280 + 20% VAT

Get in touch with training@rsb.org.uk to access these rates:

Members of Member Organisations, SCAS members - £210 + 20% VAT
Non-members who have completed a membership application and made payment - £140 + 20% VAT.

Accessibility Requirements

If you have accessibility requirements, please let us know during your booking, and we will do what we can to accommodate your needs.

Contact

For further information about the course please contact Tia Salter, Senior Professional Development Officer, at training@rsb.org.uk or on 020 3925 3460.

Refunds

Unfortunately, the Royal Society of Biology is unable to offer refunds on training courses that have been attended. We do, of course, welcome and encourage any feedback from a course and will continue to improve the service we offer.

Terms and Conditions

By booking to attend this event, you are confirming you have agreed to the RSB's Terms and Conditions which can be found here.

You are here

Introduction to Programming for Biologists Using Python, September 2025