EXTENDED COURSE

GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot is an AI pair programmer that lives inside your code editor — it suggests the next line as you type, answers questions in a chat panel, and can plan and run multi-step changes across your files in Agent Mode. This course takes you from installing the extension to writing a real data-analysis script, then up to delegating whole tasks. Ideal if you write Python or R for biology and data work.

1Lessons7step-by-step, ~90 min each

Build your first script

Work like a pro

2Cheat sheetcopy-ready expressions

3Examples3what people built

Internal tools & ops1

Copilot AI-native SME Small biz

Course starter

Accelerate boilerplate-heavy CRUD route generation

With one CRUD route written as a pattern, Copilot completes the remaining five resource routes (list, create, read, update, delete, delete) with correct error handling and validation — following the established pattern without deviation.

A full set of CRUD routes that would take 2–3 hours to type is done in 20 minutes with consistent style and no copy-paste errors.

Try it yourself

Write the first route (e.g. GET /items) in full. Start the second route with the function signature — Copilot will complete the body. Accept, review, and repeat for each resource.

Research & data tools2

Copilot Scientist

Course starter

Complete and annotate a Jupyter data analysis notebook

Copilot autocompletes pandas groupby chains, suggests the correct scipy statistical test given the data shape, and fills in markdown annotation cells explaining each step — all inline in VS Code as the notebook is written.

A full exploratory analysis that would take half a day is drafted in 90 minutes, with method documentation already in place for a manuscript methods section.

Try it yourself

Open the .ipynb in VS Code with Copilot enabled. Start typing `df.groupby(` — accept completions, then add a markdown cell starting with `## Results` and let Copilot suggest the interpretation text.

Copilot Scientist Creator

In the gallery

Write and explain regex patterns for a data ingestion pipeline

In VS Code, Copilot Chat explains the existing (broken) regex, proposes a corrected pattern for the messy log format, generates a battery of test strings covering edge cases, and adds an inline comment explaining the pattern in plain English.

A regex bug that stalled the ingestion pipeline for two days is identified and fixed in 30 minutes with a clear explanation the whole team can follow.

Try it yourself

Select the broken regex in VS Code, open Copilot Chat (Ctrl+Shift+I): "This regex is not matching dates in the format DD/MM/YYYY HH:MM:SS. Fix it and explain each group. Add 10 test strings covering edge cases."