Welcome!

This website contains all relevant information for the Python course offered by STADS (Students' Association for Data Analytics & Statistics) and the University of Mannheim.

Course Schedule

• Start: 23.09.2025
• Sessions: 8 weekly meetings
• When: Tuesdays, 19:00 – 20:30
• Where: Lecture Hall A101 (Building B6)
• Online: Participation via Zoom

Zoom Access:

• Meeting ID: 685 728 68046
• Passcode: 710169

Note: The Zoom Meeting ID and Passcode will be updated weekly. Please check this website or Portal² before each session for the latest information.

Additional Q&A session: 18.11.2025

Exam

• Main Exam: done
• Make-up Exam: 04.02.2026, 12:00 - 12:45
• Registration: Registration Form

Requirements: Participation in at least 4 out of 8 in-person sessions (attendance will be recorded).

Note: The exam format will differ from previous years. More details will follow.

Registration

• Register for the course / mailing list via this Registration Form
• If you want to receive credit points as a "Schlüsselqualifikation", register via Portal².

Before the first session, please make sure you completed the setup.

Course Structure

This course mainly consist of two parts:

• Introduction to the topic by working through the w3schools Python Tutorial. The interactive exercises allow us to learn Python efficiently, while focusing directly on its application.
• Hands-on coding projects to reinforce and deepen your knowledge of the fundamentals you have learned. You will be able to directly apply and combine newly learned material to complete mini-projects provided on the GitHub site. The proportion of hands-on projects will increase over time.

All materials will be provided in English, as is typical in the data science world. The sessions themselves will be held in German. You can contact me in either language.

Setup

1. Python. We will be using Python 3.13 for this course. There are many ways to install Python. If you haven't done so yet, you could use Miniconda or install Python globally.
2. VS Code. We will be working a lot with Jupyter Notebooks. You can use Jupyter Notebooks in your browser, but it is recommended to use Visual Studio Code. Make sure to install the Python and Jupyter Extensions in VS Code.
3. Git. All code will be provided in a GitHub repository
   https://github.com/STADS-Mannheim/python-course-2025.git
   If you haven't already done so yet, you can install Git as described below.
   • Windows: Download Git for Windows or just type in your admin powershell
     choco install git
   • Mac: Download Git for Mac or just type in your terminal
     brew install git
   If you are not familiar with Git, you can find a very short guide here.