week1

Week 1: Welcome & First Steps in Python for Data

📚 Overview

Welcome to Practical Data Science: Tools for Social Change! This week introduces you to the power of data science for social impact and gets you started with Python programming in Google Colab.

🎯 Learning Objectives

By the end of this week, you will be able to:

• Navigate Google Colab and run Python code in the browser
• Work with basic Python data types (numbers, strings, lists, dictionaries)
• Write simple Python operations and functions
• Upload a notebook to GitHub and understand version control basics

🎓 Session Resources

• Lecture: Why Data Science for Social Impact?

• Tutorial: Your First Python Steps

🏗️ Mini-Deliverable

Assignment: Create and upload a Colab notebook with a "hello world" exercise that introduces yourself and describes a social issue you care about.

🔗 Additional Resources

Inspiration: Data Science for Social Good

• DataKind - Global community using data science for good
• UN Global Pulse - UN's data innovation initiative
• CorrelAidNL - Pro-bono data science network

Technical Resources

• Google Colab Documentation
• Python.org Beginner's Guide
• Real Python Basics

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Next Week: Week 2: Working with DataFrames (Pandas Basics)

Course Overview: Main README