Applications close 26 June 2026 — only 15 spaces available
At a glance#
| Dates | 7–9 July 2026 (daily start and end times to be confirmed) |
| Venue | University of the Western Cape, South Africa |
| Format | In-person, three full days |
| Cost | Free — travel and accommodation are not covered |
| Spaces | Limited space available — only 15 participants will be accepted |
| Training Materials Clinic | Separate, optional one-day sessions at UCT and UWC — dates to be confirmed |
| Application | Open — apply now (rolling review, 15 spaces available) |
| Application deadline | 26 June 2026 |
Why give up three days?#
This hands-on workshop is for people who teach Python to researchers and postgraduate students, and for researchers, engineers, and technical staff who already maintain their own Python research codebases. Across three days at UWC, you’ll work directly with real code — spotting maintainability issues, applying Better Research Software and SOLID practices, establishing a static-analysis baseline, refactoring, and using AI coding assistants critically — and leave with approaches you can apply immediately to your own codebase or teaching materials.
Note: This is not an introductory Python course. Participants should already have a Python codebase or training materials they want to improve.
Is this workshop for you?#
You’re a good fit if you:
- develop, maintain, or teach Python code used in research — including PhD students, postdocs, faculty, research software engineers, technical staff, and trainers
- already have a Python codebase or set of training materials you want to improve, rather than writing one-off analysis code for a single project
- want practical, transferable skills in maintainability, refactoring, and responsible AI-assisted coding
No formal software engineering background is required.
Application criteria#
As part of the application, you’ll need to:
- Show you’re actively developing research software or training materials — submit a link to your research code (GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, or similar) or your training materials
- Be working or studying at a South African university or research organisation
- Be able to fund your own transport and accommodation, if required
- Commit to attending all three days, 9:30–16:00, at the University of the Western Cape, Bellville Campus
Make the case to attend#
- Free to attend — funded through the Erasmus+ programme
- Backed by established partners — the South African National Bioinformatics Institute (SANBI) at UWC, the UCT eResearch Centre, and RSSE Africa
- Led by recognised experts — Prof. Colin C. Venters (University of Limerick and CERN) and Prof. Birgit Penzenstadler (Chalmers University of Technology and University of Gothenburg)
- Concrete, transferable outcomes — hands-on experience assessing and improving code maintainability, applying SOLID principles, and using AI coding assistants responsibly: skills directly relevant to your research output, supervision, and teaching
What to bring#
- A laptop with a local Python environment
- GitHub or GitLab access
- Your own Python code or training materials to work on
Training Materials Clinic#
In addition to the workshop, RSSE Africa and partners will host two separate, optional one-day Training Materials Clinics — one at UCT and one at UWC — on dates still to be confirmed. Designed for trainers and educators, each clinic is a collaborative space to adapt your own teaching materials with peer and facilitator support.
Questions?#
If you have any questions about the workshop or the application process, email Anelda van der Walt (UCT) → or email Peter van Heusden (UWC) →
Partners and funders#
