CSA AFRICA PYTHON WORKSHOP 2021                              (Online)

CSA Africa 2021 Python Workshop ran online from 30 August–10 September 2021, delivered via Zoom and Gather Town. The two-week intensive workshop offered four learning tracks Python Fundamentals, Advanced Programming, Data Science, and Algorithms & Object-Oriented Programming with 10 team members and 40 volunteers supporting 172 participants selected from 487 applications received from 11 African countries (Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Eswatini, South Africa, and Uganda). 

The workshop achieved a 50/50 gender balance on the teaching team, with 23% female volunteers. Participant demographics included undergraduates, postgraduates, academic staff, and industry professionals, though only 15.7% of participants were women a reflection of the gender gap in STEM education across Africa. To support participants facing connectivity challenges, 40GB of data was provided to those who requested it. 

Participants engaged in 2-hour live lectures each morning followed by hands-on coding sessions with five participants paired to one tutor. On average, 80% of participants completed daily coding tasks, and participants reported significant improvements in confidence with Python programming. The workshop culminated in team-based projects including a book recommender system, Spotify data analysis and visualisation, and a family-tree class implementation. 

Despite challenges including internet connectivity issues, erratic power supply, and the difficulty of addressing confidence issues online without reading body language, participants demonstrated remarkable commitment. As one tutor noted: "I've had a great time working with them especially with one who is a mother that still manages to get the tasks done with her daughter shouting in her ear sometimes." 

The CSA Africa team would like to thank the School of Computing Science and School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Glasgow for technical support, and the Global Challenges Research Fund and Scottish Funding Council for funding this workshop.