About

Cloud-SPAN is a collaboration between the University of York and The Software Sustainability Institute funded by the UKRI Innovation Scholars award. Project Reference: MR/V038680/1.

We host live training workshops and have also created educational training materials on topics such as using the command line, genomic analysis and whole metagenome sequencing (WMS) workflows. Our goal is to train researchers, and the research software engineers that support them, to run specialised analyses on cloud-based high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure. All of the training materials and live workshops are offered free of charge.

Our approach

  • Inclusive to anyone interested in big data, we remove barriers that may have prevented learners from studying before. Only a laptop and an internet connection are required to access the materials and participate in workshops.
  • Learning materials are designed to be as accessible as possible to beginners, with lots of guidance and reassurance along the way.
  • During the live workshops learners participate in live-coding, learning by doing and are provided with practical hands-on experience with tutor support.
  • Participants in taught workshops receive free access to an AWS instance containing all the software and data you’ll need for the duration of the teaching period.
  • The learning environment at live workshops is very welcoming, encouraging and inclusive. A lot of our learners are complete beginners or new to this world of big data, command line and cloud computing.
  • Scholarships are available to enable members of underrepresented groups and those with financial difficulties to participate in our training courses. Funding can be used to cover expenses such as childcare, equipment or travel to in-person events.

Our learning resources

Core skills

Core R and Prenomics were created to introduce the fundamentals of the command line and to help learners gain confidence in their programming skills.

Specialised skills

Learners who were already confident with their command line abilities were encouraged to complete Genomics and Metagenomics. An online assessment was developed for learners to self assess their level of knowledge and help them to gauge which course would be most appropriate for them. These modules enhancing specialised skills provide researchers with the advanced knowledge and skills required to generate and analyse ’omics data using Cloud HPC resources. In addtion there is also materials for Automated Management of AWS Instances which is aimed at experienced command line users who have an interest in deploying and managing cloud resources for training purposes. Statistically Useful Experimental Design {#Statistically-Useful-Experimental-Design} was developed to help researchers to understand the issues underpinning good experimental design and also ensure that reproducible techniques are used to produce data.

Note

The only course which requires significant prior experience in programming is Automated Management of AWS Instances which is aimed at computing professionals and research software engineers.

Our Community

The Cloud-SPAN team are dedicated to providing a welcoming and supportive environment for all people, regardless of background or identity. We hope to develop a community of practice around our materials. We have a Handbook that gives:

⭐ An introduction to the Cloud-SPAN project

🤝 Our Code of Conduct

🎓 More information on our Courses

👪 An open invitation to the Cloud-SPAN Community

📌 Information about the FAIR Principles

Licences

This instructional material is made available for reuse and remixing under the Creative Commons Attribution license.

The Cloud-SPAN Genomics course consists of materials derived from Data Carpentry’s Genomics Workshop. This material is not endorsed by Data Carpentry or the Carpentries in general.

Cloud-SPAN is a collaboration between the University of York and The Software Sustainability Institute funded by the UKRI Innovation Scholars award. Project Reference: MR/V038680/1.