Pactical Coding for Researchers Workshop Fosters Collaboration: IT News : Indiana University
In the recent “Practical Coding for Researchers” workshop, members of the UITS Research Technologies team helped graduate students across disciplines refine their coding skills and workflows. The two-part interactive workshop provided practical tools and insights the students need to tackle their current academic projects and to prepare for professional development roles in the future. These sessions were led and supported by Ben Fulton, a Research Software Engineer; Robert Henschel, a Research Engagement Architect; and Laura Huber, a systems analyst and programmer. In addition to specific skills and methods, these members of the UITS Research Technologies team were able to share with workshop participants their extensive knowledge and personal experience of how developers collaborate and resolve conflicts.
During the first half of the workshop, the students gained expertise in source control by focusing on versioning, collaboration and best practices. By the end of Session I, they were equipped with the knowledge to effectively manage code changes, collaborate seamlessly on projects, and use tools like Git to boost productivity. The second session titled “Code Smarter, Not Harder,” focused on integrated development environments (IDEs), debuggers, linters and testing. Through hands-on practice, students learned how to optimize their coding environment, debug efficiently, enforce high code quality, and implement robust testing practices.
Many graduate students and researchers are self-taught coders who pick up skills along the way based on their discipline-specific demands. Lindsay Stolting, a doctoral candidate studying cognitive science and neuroscience, who attended the “Practical Coding for Researchers” workshop is one such student. While Lindsay is not a computer scientist by training, she uses code extensively in her research projects. Even though Lindsay taught herself to code, she found that more advanced topics like project collaboration were difficult to tackle on her own. In addition, Lindsay felt she needed to develop more tailored experience to take advantage of the powerful computing systems available to her at IU. Addressing these challenges were some of Lindsay’s main goals for attending the workshop.
In addition to improving her general coding skills, Lindsay noted that the “the workshop leaders were able to answer questions in a way that is specific to IU’s technology infrastructure.” The specific knowledge and expertise that the UITS Research Technologies team brings is a big reason Lindsay believes “the workshop was so necessary and why it’s so important that UITS is able to continue them.” As Lindsay aptly describes: “Sure, you can Google how to use GitHub and debuggers, but in terms of integrating that with IU’s supercomputer and IU’s internal GitHub account, there are a lot of things I wouldn’t have been able to answer without the workshop.” Through training and support, UITS Research Technologies breaks down barriers for graduate students such as Lindsay who are able to push their research goals forward by integrating IU’s advanced technology.
For information on upcoming workshops and events:
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