Key Information

Tutors: Research Software Engineers from the Research Computing Service 
Duration: 3-hour session
Delivery: Live (In-Person) & Live (Online)
Course Credit (PGR only): 1 credit 
Audience: Research Degree Students, Postdocs, Research Fellows

Dates

  • Fri 03 October 2025
    09:30-12:30, South Kensington
  • Tues 11 November 2025
    09:30-12:30, MS Teams
  • Mon 19 January 2026
    13:30-16:30, South Kensington
  • Tues 03 March 2026
    09:30-12:30, MS Teams
  • Thurs 16 April 2026
    10:00-13:00, South Kensington
  • Tues 02 June 2026
    09:30-12:30, MS Teams

Course Resources

This course introduces the version control system Git - an essential tool for tracking and managing software development. Working with Git provides the flexibility to freely make changes to your code and the security of knowing that you can always get back to a working state. You will learn to track the changes you made to your code and when you made them using the command line and graphical tools.  

Beyond working on your own code, understanding Git allows usage of online code repositories such as GitHub. Using an online repository to publish your code is a great way to disseminate your research and a necessary step to collaborate with others. This course will demonstrate how to publish code to GitHub and introduce some of its basics features and functionality.  

Material will be delivered as a lecture with tasks. For in-person iterations, workstations will be available so bringing a laptop is not required. However, attendees are encouraged to do so if they wish to apply the materials from this course in an environment relevant to their work.  

Syllabus:

  • Basic Git concepts and terminology  
  • Using Git to track and visualise changes in your code  
  • How to prepare your code for publication  
  • Publishing your code using Github  
  • Using GitHub Issues to manage your to-do list in relation to the software

This course is open to Research Degree Students, Postdocs & Research Fellows. Limited spaces available for wider Imperial community.


Learning Outcomes:

After completing this workshop, you will be better able to: 

  • Use the version control software Git to record and track changes to a code base
  • Publish your code to a public repository
  • Maintain your code repository up to date and in sync with your local copy
  • Understand how to access support for research computing via the Research Computing Service at Imperial

Prerequisites

Some knowledge of programming. For example, an introductory ECRI programming class (or equivalent). Familiarity using the terminal.

How to book

 

Please ensure you have read and understood ECRI’s cancellation policy before booking. 

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