The University of Granada hosts an Arqus course designed to introduce Psychology students to programming

The University of Granada recently hosted a three-day intensive course for psychology students with the aim of introducing them to programming and encouraging participation in STEM subjects from an inclusive perspective.

The course brought together students from the University of Granada and other Arqus universities in an environment designed specifically for those interested in coding with little prior experience.

The course combined practical training, teamwork, and a mentoring programme to help participants develop confidence in using digital tools for psychological research. As well as equipping participants with basic technical skills, the initiative aimed to challenge gender stereotypes associated with scientific and technological fields.

During the sessions, the students worked on international collaborative projects, learning the fundamental concepts of Python programming, computational thinking, and basic data analysis. Topics covered included variables and control structures, functions and libraries applied to research, and introductory techniques for working with real-world psychological data.

This activity was funded by Arqus as part of a Teaching Innovation Project. Support was also provided by the Mind, Brain and Behaviour Research Centre, where the meeting took place, and the University of Granada’s Unit of Excellence and María de Maeztu Excellence Unit. Of course, the lecturers from the Universities of Granada and Padua who organised and facilitated the course also played a key role.