Howard University Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI), Public Health Informatics Technology for District of Columbia (PHIT4DC), and GHUCCTS are pleased to announce VADSTI 4.0, Spring 2025 Training Series to the Howard University research community, the workforce in the District of Columbia and the surrounding region. The goal is to enhance data science capability and application by providing training in the foundations of programming and critical data analytic skills for planning and conducting research involving big data pertinent to biomedical and minority health and health disparities research.
This free Spring Training Series will cover topics including, Foundations of Data Science, Introduction to Python, Basic Statistical Concepts, Data Exploration & Visualization, Experimentation in Data Science, and introduction to algorithmic techniques in Machine Learning.
Program Objectives & Competencies
The primary objective of the 2025 VADSTI Spring Training Series is to provide training in data science fundamentals, and computing skills with hands-on application to minority health and health disparity datasets. Over the course of the training program, participants will:
- Be introduced to principles of data science.
- Gain practical, hands-on experience with Python and related libraries for accessing data from multiple sources and use analytic methods for analyses.
- Learn about data exploration, and visualization using Python.
- Be introduced to probability and statistical analysis concepts utilized in data science.
- Learn about principles and applications of A/B testing
- Understand the concepts of data partitioning and practice behind supervised learning.
- Be introduced to algorithmic techniques in machine learning.
Digital Certificate of Completion: Participants who complete all the modules and submit their projects in the VADSTI GitHub Data Science Project Portfolio will receive a verified digital certificate of completion.
Evaluation: At the end of each training module, you will be requested to complete electronic feedback forms to the extent to which expectations and objectives were met.
Registration & Fees: No fees for participation, but registration is required to attend. Link to Registration.
Learn More | For questions contact: phit4dc@howard.edu and rcmi@howard.edu
Module 1 | Foundations of Data Science with Python
Wednesday, January 29, & Thursday, January 30, 2025
5:00 PM – 8:00 PM EST
INSTRUCTOR – Ebelechukwu Nwafor, PhD.
This module introduces students to the fundamental concepts of data science, including data collection, cleaning, exploration, and basic analysis. By the end of the module, students will learn about data visualization techniques, and statistical methods essential for understanding and interpreting data. This foundation is designed to equip students with the tools and techniques required to extract meaningful insights from data and make informed decisions. Hands-on exercises will help reinforce these concepts, emphasizing data manipulation using libraries like Pandas and data visualization with tools like Matplotlib and Seaborn.