Come explore data science tools and methods in a fun, relaxed environment. Everyone is welcome! Those with little or no data experience are especially encouraged to participate.
For students
During this workshop we’ll introduce you to basic excel skills. We’ll teach you some essential Excel Tips and Tricks. You’ll learn how to write and use Excel formulas, sort and filter data, apply cell formatting, and practice using Pivot tables to summarize data. No prior Excel knowledge required. This workshop would be helpful for anyone wanting to hone their Excel skills or who may want to prepare for summer internships and/or research.
Pizza and cookies provided!
Tuesday, February 17th, 2026 4:30-6:00pm, Academic West 204
Tuesday, February 24th, 2026 4:30-6:00pm, Academic West 204
Instructor: Katie Akateh (Research Data Services Specialist)
Co-sponsored by Library Services
For students and faculty/staff
Join us for this lunch and learn session to learn how to retrieve, filter, and sort data using basic SELECT queries. Participants will learn core SQL concepts through clear examples and practice.
Lunch provided!
Monday, March 2nd, 2026 noon-1:00pm, Academic West 204
Instructor: Mike Latorre (Data Analytics Architect)
Co-sponsored by the Office for Institutional Research and Analytics
Forfaculty and staff
If you haven’t had time to keep up with every Google-related AI update, this workshop is a quick way to catch up. We’ll cover the basics of the latest Gemini and NotebookLM features, showing you how they work, how you might use them, and answering any questions you may have.
Wednesday, March 4th, 2026 11:00am-12:00pm, Zoom
Instructor: Brandon Karcher (Manager, Instructional Technology)
Co-sponsored by Library Services
Forfaculty and staff
You probably have read a wide range of narratives about so‑called “agentic AI.” “AI Agents Are Taking America by Storm,” warns The Atlantic, noting that “the post‑chatbot era has begun.” At the same time, The Chronicle asks, “Will Agentic AI Break Higher Education?” as it tries to make sense of tools that can complete student work while considering whether they might upend colleges altogether. Wherever you stand on the use of AI, it is easy to feel exhausted as headlines compete for your attention and amplify uncertainty.
This workshop is designed to help you cut through the noise and understand the technology by engaging with it firsthand. Together, we will break down what the technology actually is and clarify the latest buzzwords, then work through a series of guided, hands‑on tasks that let you experience agentic AI systems directly. Multiple examples will be explored, helping you determine how the tech might be useful for your own workflows, as well as how it should not be used, to ensure your data and your own judgment are protected and preserved.
NOTE: Some coding familiarity is helpful but not required. A guided Python notebook will be provided and will walk us through examples throughout the workshop.
Breakfast provided!
Thursday, May 21st, 2026 9:00am-noon, Taylor 212
Instructor: Brian King (Xin Faculty Fellow in Computer Science & Engineering and Associate Professor of Computer Science)
Let us know what you thought about the workshops! Please fill out the survey separately for each workshop you attended.
We value your honest feedback, both positive and negative.
Looking for a past workshop? See each past semester’s page for more information:
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