Objective

The aim of the course is to give an introduction to computational programming in Python for students without any previous programming knowledge. There is a strong orientation towards computational mathematics. Python is a modern scripting language with ties to Scientific Computing due to powerful scientific libraries like SciPy, NumPy and Matplotlib. The course covers elementary programming concepts (arithmetic expressions, for-loops, logical expressions, if-statements, functions, and classes) that are closely connected to mathematical/technical problems and examples, as well as mathematical manipulations and problem-solving (e.g. setting up matrices, solving linear problems, solving differential equations, finding roots).

Students with prior programming experience in other programming languages could also consider the COMPUTE course "Scientific Computing with Python and Fortran".

For more information will be available on the course's CANVAS page.   Here is a link to last year's CANVAS page.

Pre-requisites/requirements

• Standard desktop computer/laptop with internet connection
• Python installation 3.8 or better
• It is typically not possible to admit MSc students to COMPUTE courses.

Teaching

The teaching consists of lectures and computer exercises.  All teaching activities are planned to be given online.  The course start in June 2025 on distance via Zoom. The fourteen remote lectures will be given daily.   Given a decent internet connection, it should be possible to follow the lectures from almost anywhere.  The final project presentation will be in late August.

Course literature

Führer, Solem, Verdier: Scientific Computing with Python (2nd Ed.), Packt Publishing, 2021, ISBN 9781838822323

Dates

June - August 2025

Registration

Registration will open closer to the start of the course