Workshops

Selected workshops, courses, and hands-on training I’ve delivered

These are selected workshops and courses I have designed, taught, or co-taught for researchers, students, librarians, and research support professionals.

R & data analysis

• Introductory R for Social Sciences — a recurring, multi-session introductory R course for SMU students, taught since 2023. Current course site; earlier materials remain available.
• Data Carpentry (Social Sciences with R) for SMU (Nov 2023) — a two-day workshop for PhD students and research staff.
• Data Carpentry (Social Sciences with R) for Carnegie Mellon University (Nov 2023) — volunteer instructor with The Carpentries.

Python

• Python for Macroeconomics (Oct 2024) — a hands-on workshop introducing Python for macroeconomic data analysis.
• Software Carpentry (Python) for TU Delft / University of Twente — volunteer instructor with The Carpentries, May 2023 and Nov 2023.

Bite-sized / Skill Myself Up workshops

I regularly design and teach 90-minute hands-on workshops as part of SMU Libraries’ bite-sized / Skill Myself Up series every semester. These sessions introduce practical tools and methods that researchers, students, and staff can apply immediately in their own work. Open only to SMU community.

Selected topics include:

• Python 101: The Basics
• Python 101: Tinkering with Pandas DataFrame
• Python 101: Visualising Your Data in Python
• Python 101: Polars Exploration
• Python 101: Tinkering with LLMs via API: Claude, OpenAI, and more
• Survey Design and Implementation with Qualtrics

AI in research workflows

• FORCE11 FSCI 2025 (Online) — AI-Powered Search in Libraries: A Crash Course on the Fundamentals for Library Professionals, with lead instructor Aaron Tay.
• AI for Research Week 2024 (SMU, May 2024):
  • Try it together: Transcribing your audio with Whisper API
  • Try it together - AI-powered search tools: Elicit, SciSpace, Connected Papers, ResearchRabbit, and Undermind.ai, with Aaron Tay and Ooi Kooi Cheng.

Reproducible research & tools

• FORCE11 FSCI 2024 (UCLA, CA, USA) — 3-day in-person course, Making Research More Transparent with Quarto and RStudio, with co-instructor Dong Danping.
• Introduction to Git & GitHub — hands-on workshop (2025).
• Library Carpentry for SMU Librarians (Jun 2022).