This course is brought to you by the Lab of Environmental Informatics (University of Marburg, Germany)
Motivation
A life without the free programming language Python is no longer imaginable for many people and those who do not know Python often do not know what they are missing. Unfortunately, the widespread believe that Python is difficult to learn still exists, which makes it unnecessarily difficult for many newcomers to enter the world of Python. We would like to change this with this course.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- set up and operate a Python development environment for data-driven tasks;
- use and distinguish basic data types and variables to structure and process information effectively;
- apply string manipulation and fundamental operators to work with textual and numeric data;
- control program flow using conditional statements and loops;
- structure and manage data using Python’s built-in object data types such as lists, arrays, and data frames;
- read, process, and organize external data from CSV files for analysis;
- create simple and informative visualizations to explore and communicate data insights;
- understand and apply basic concepts of object-oriented programming (OOP);
- Quick recap;
Setting
This course will take place in a hybrid synchronous setting in presence in room F 14 | 00A19 and online. In addition, there will be regular meetings with a tutor. Details on the additional tutor sessions will be provided in the first regular session, which will take place on Wednesday 23.10.2025 at 14:15 am (German time) in room F 14 | 00A19. The virtual room for online participants must be accessed via ILIAS. Note that the tutor sessions are voluntary.
🆕 A weekly tutorial will take place on Fridays from 15:00 to 17:00 (German time) in room F 14 | 00A19.
Further details on the tutorial format and location will be announced soon.
Syllabus
| Unit | Date | Topic | Content |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 23.10.2025 | Overview and the very basics | Set up everything needed to work with Python and take your first steps |
| 02 | 30.10.2025 | Variables and basic data types | How data is measured and organized from a Python perspective |
| 03 | 06.11.2025 | Working with strings and simple operators | How to use strings and operators in Python |
| 04 | 13.11.2025 | Conditionals | Learn how to use if, elif, and else |
| 05 | 20.11.2025 | Object data types | Get to know lists, arrays, matrices, and DataFrames |
| 06 | 27.11.2025 | Loops | Use for-loops and while-loops |
| 07 | 04.12.2025 | Working with files | Work with CSV files and sort, combine, and merge data |
| 08 | 11.12.2025 | Simple visualizations | Quickly and simply visualize data |
| 09 | 18.12.2025 | Simple visualizations | Quickly and simply visualize data |
| 10 | 15.01.2026 | OOP fundamentals | Introduction to object-oriented programming |
| 11 | 22.01.2026 | Artificial Intelligence (AI) | Python concepts used in AI and data-driven applications |
| 12 | 29.01.2026 | Course review and practical applications | Review core concepts and solve small practical tasks |
| 13 | 05.02.2026 | Final project | Discussion and guidance |
| 14 | 12.02.2026 | Feedback and final submission | Notes, questions, and course feedback |
Instructor
