Interested in learning about High Performance Computing, Linux, or programming with Python? ACENET's fall training is starting soon. These sessions are online and are free of charge. Our fall training offerings are listed below, with more to be announced.

If you have any questions about upcoming training or ACENET services at UPEI, contact Kaitlin Newson.

Basics of Computers

15 September, 1300-1500hrs Atlantic

Most of us have experience using a computer, whether for school, work, or entertainment, but how many of us have actually had an expert teach us how to use it? It doesn't need to be (quite) this way. This talk won't teach you how to troubleshoot everything, but will give you insight into how media, programs, and data are encoded and used by computers, so you can make more sense of why computers behave the ways they do, and solve some of your problems with greater efficiency and less frustration. We will provide an approachable overview of how a computer works, by both looking at their history and breaking one down to explain individual components, before highlighting some of the trade-offs to consider when buying a computer. We will provide practical, simple, and actionable advice on digital security and show you a few "pro tips" on how to make the most of your workstation, phone, or whatever device you happen to use. Whether you have a lot or a little experience using your digital technology, if you want to learn how to use your devices more effectively, this workshop is for you!  

DETAILS & REGISTER: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-basics-of-computers-tickets-710253065037

Introduction to High Performance Computing (HPC)

19 September, 1000-1130hrs Atlantic

What is High Performance Computing (HPC) and what can it do for me? How can ACENET help? Used by researchers across many disciplines to tackle analyses too large or complex for a desktop, or to achieve improved efficiency over a desktop, this session takes participants through the preliminary stages of learning about high performance computing (HPC) and computing clusters, and how to get started with this type of computing. It then reviews software packages available for applications, data analysis, software development, and compiling code. Finally, participants will be introduced to the concept of parallel computing to achieve much faster results in analysis. This session is designed for those with no prior experience in HPC, and are looking for an introduction and overview.  

DETAILS & REGISTER:  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-basics-introduction-to-hpc-tickets-710253867437

Introduction to Linux

20 September, 1000-1130hrs Atlantic

Linux is the terminal interface used to enable you to use supercomputing clusters from your desktop. It's the tool you need to get your data on the clusters, run your programs, and get your data back. In this session, learn how to create and navigate directories for your data, load files, manage your storage, run programs on the compute clusters, and set file permissions. This workshop is designed for those with no prior experience in working with a terminal interface. 

DETAILS & REGISTER:  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-basics-introduction-to-linux-tickets-710254178367

Introduction to Shell Scripting

21 September, 1000-1130hrs Atlantic

Shell scripting helps you save time, automate file management tasks, and better use the power of Linux. You’ll learn how to use the command line to carry out repetitive tasks, extract information from files quickly, combine commands in powerful ways, learn about job scripts, shell variables, and looping commands, and capture a workflow so you can re-use it easily. Save time, reduce errors, and use Linux more effectively. This workshop is designed for either new High Performance Computing (HPC) users who are familiar with working in a Linux environment, or for experienced users seeking to get more out of shell scripting. It is one of the core courses to help users get up and running on ACENET and the Digital Research Alliance of Canada systems.

Prerequisite: ACENET Basic Series Introduction to Linux, or previous experience with Linux.  

DETAILS & REGISTER:  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-basics-introduction-to-shell-scripting-tickets-710254399027

Job Scheduling with Slurm

22 September, 1000-1130hrs Atlantic

The national systems use a job scheduler called “Slurm”. In this session you will learn how Slurm works and how it allocates jobs, helping you to: minimize wait time by framing reasonable requests; ask for only the resources you need to improve efficiency; increase throughput; run more jobs simultaneously; and troubleshoot and address crashes. This workshop is designed for new HPC users, or for experienced users either transitioning to Slurm or seeking to improve efficiency with the scheduler.

Prerequisites: Completion of Introduction to Linux and Introduction to Shell Scripting, or prior experience with both.  

DETAILS & REGISTER:  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-basics-job-scheduling-with-slurm-tickets-710254629717

Introductory Programming: Unix Shell, Version Control, and Python

27 September, 4 October, 1300-1630hrs Atlantic

This is a beginner-level series that is hands-on, covering the fundamentals of Python. This includes data types, conditional statements, loops and functions, as well as program design, version control, data management, and task automation. The goal is to teach the practical knowledge needed to start programming, debugging and using Python in everyday tasks. You do not need to have any previous knowledge of the tools that will be presented or previous programming experience but intermediate level experience with a computer is highly recommended.

DETAILS & REGISTER:  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-introductory-programming-with-python-tickets-711238041127

Cloud from A to Z

17, 19, 24, 26 October, 1300-1600hrs Atlantic

Cloud computing provides great flexibility, allowing complete control of the computing environment. In addition, the environment can be copied, backed up, created and recreated in an automated way. In these lessons, we will start you on the path toward making use of the great flexibility and power of cloud computing. We will be using the popular static website generator Jekyll.

Prerequisite: Completion of Introduction to Linux, Software Carpentry's Unix Shell, or similar experience.

DETAILS & REGISTER:  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-cloud-from-a-to-z-tickets-710265482177

Introductory Programming with R

18, 25 October, 1300-1630hrs Atlantic

This is a beginner-level series that is hands-on, covering the fundamentals of R. This includes data types, functions, importing, manipulating and analyzing data, and data visualization, as well as program design, version control, data management, and task automation. The goal is to teach the practical knowledge needed to start programming, debugging, and using R in everyday tasks. You do not need to have any previous knowledge of the tools that will be presented or previous programming experience but intermediate level experience with a computer is highly recommended. 

DETAILS & REGISTER:  https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/acenet-introductory-programming-with-r-tickets-711430436587