A pilot launch of the “Foundations of Programming in R” program took place at the Institute of Zoology. This program is part of the course “Modern Computer Tools in Ecological Research.”
The training was attended by staff from various scientific divisions of the institute, colleagues from KazNU, as well as representatives of other organizations—both Kazakhstani and international (including participants from the United States and Uzbekistan). Thanks to modern technology, 11 of our colleagues residing in other cities and countries were able to join the training online.
The course was developed and is conducted by Ivan Gennadyevich Frolov, a researcher at the Laboratory of Ornithology and Herpetology of the Institute of Zoology. The short course consists of five practical sessions aimed at mastering basic skills for working with ecological data using the R programming language.
The first session focused on installing and configuring the necessary tools—R and RStudio, the basics of working with their interfaces, as well as an introduction to Git and GitHub (version control basics, working with repositories on GitHub, and using the GitHub Desktop version).
Classes are held once a week and include homework assignments to reinforce the information learned. As early as next Thursday, training participants will begin practically learning the fundamentals of programming in R and will be able to apply these new capabilities to analyze data gathered during scientific research.
Initially, the training was intended only for employees of the Institute of Zoology, but we decided to broaden the participant pool and offered a free opportunity to our partners and colleagues.
The course started off successfully, and we hope that its participants will complete the program and use modern computer technologies to enhance the quality of scientific research and elevate it to a new level!
Photos by: Larisa Shakhvorostova
January 22, 2025