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DS Prep Course

Data Science Prep Course

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Course overview

The Data Science Prep Course (Prep Course) is a preparation course designed to equip you with prerequisite knowledge for the Lisbon Data Science Starters Academy (LDSSA). Having said that, the Prep Course would still be useful for anyone interested in learning Data Science, whether or not it is through Lisbon Data Science Academy (LDSA); or who is simply looking to gain foundational knowledge in Python programming.

It is important to keep in mind that we cannot guarantee that by taking the Prep Course, you will (1) enter Lisbon Data Science Starters Academy or/and (2) secure a job in Tech.

What will be covered

Python Programming, Python Engineering, numpy, Linear Algebra, the *nix command line, Git Basics, Jupyter. You can see the curriculum in more details in this document.

The latest published edition is available in the ds-prep-course-2025 repository, and you can work through its learning units at your own pace.

When is the Prep Course

The schedule below records the 2025 edition, which ran from 17 March to 8 June 2025. Dates for a future edition will be published when confirmed. The public materials remain available for independent study.

Fees

The Prep Course is free of charge.

How does the Prep Course work

Learning materials

This is a 100% online and 100% remote course that you can take anywhere in your spare time. New learning materials will be released and shared with you every Monday. Ideally, you will go through them and complete all exercises by the end of the week. When and where you do that is totally up to you! If you cannnot complete a unit within a week, no problem, you can catch up later or just continue at your own pace. There are no deadlines in this course.

What support will I receive during the course

You have at your availability a group of dedicated instructors who will answer any of your questions in our Slack workspace. On top of that, you will be surrounded by motivated fellow students that can also help you out. Make the most out of the course!

Time requirements

If you have no prior knowledge of any of the subjects, you should be prepared to spend an absolute minimum of 10 hours per week on the course. We understand that this might sound like a lot. However, this course was not designed to give you only a brief introduction to Python programming. We expect you to understand the fundamentals and practise enough to solve programming problems independently. If you already know some topics, the time required will be lower.

Timeline

The archived schedule is a suggested pace. Completing the materials should give you the Python, command-line, Git and quantitative foundations needed to begin Specialization 1 of the Starters Academy. The 2026/2027 Starters Academy has no admission exam.

2025 edition schedule

This table is an archive of the 2025 Prep Course schedule. Use it as a suggested order for independent study, skipping topics you already know and spending more time on topics you find difficult. ||| |-|-| | 2025-01-01 - 2025-03-14 | Applications are open | | 2025-03-15 - 2025-03-16 | Applications results are published | | 2025-03-17 | Prep course starts | | Week 0 | Setup
SLU00 - Jupyter Notebook | Week 1 | SLU01 - Command Line & Basics of Debugging
SLU02 - Programming Basics | | Week 2 | SLU03 - Git Basics
SLU04 - Data Structures | | Week 3 | SLU05 - Flow Control | | Week 4 | SLU06 - Git Intermediate
SLU07 - Functions: Fundamentals | | Week 5 | SLU08 - Functions: Intermediate
SLU09 - OOP Basics | | Week 6 | SLU10 - OOP Inheritance
SLU11 - String & File Handling | | Week 7 | SLU12 - Linear Algebra & NumPy, Part 1 | | Week 8 | SLU13 - Linear Algebra & NumPy, Part 2
SLU14 - Modules & Packages | | Week 9 | SLU15 - Debugging & Text Editor
SLU16 - Final Project | | Week 10| SLU17 - Exam Prep I | | Week 11| SLU18 - Exam Prep II | | 2025-06-08| Prep course ends |

Practicalities

Here we will explain how our Slack workspace is organized. Essentially, there will be a Slack channel dedicated to each week’s materials, e.g. #setup, #week-01, #week-02, #week-03. Questions should be posted to the right channels, e.g. if you have a question about Week 02, you should go to #week-02 channel and post your questions there.

While it may seem annoying at the moment to have to remember where to post a question, in the future you will GREATLY appreciate it when you are looking for where that one clever answer to that one question is. Furthermore, you’ll be very grateful not to have a question about a completely unrelated subject right next to your brilliant one. Trust us, the extra effort is worth it!

How to ask for help

There is one slack rule to rule them all! Whenever you can, ASK QUESTIONS PUBLICLY (on the Slack channel of week-XX for questions related with that week’s SLUs, on the general channel for non-SLU related questions, etc.)

We know and totally understand that it can be intimidating to ask a question in front of a bunch of other people that you don’t even know. We’ve all been there and can empathize. However, the rewards of overcoming this fear and asking a question in a slack channel that everyone can see are too great to ignore. The benefits, among others, are:

  1. You will get an answer faster. If 50 people see your question, you will get an answer faster than if 1 person does.
  2. You will get a better answer. If 50 people see your question, you’re likely get a better answer than if 1 person does.
  3. You may make a friend. It increases the chances of interacting with an interesting person that you may not have met otherwise. These types of peers can increase your chances of success immensely.
  4. You will help others with the same question. Very likely someone else has the same question and will be able to benefit from the answer.

On top of that, for your questions to be answered in the shortest possible time, provide us with enough context. Among others, you can attach a screenshot of your terminal or code output together with your questions. If you, as a student, see a question that you know the answer to, just go for it and answer!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. I just want to check that the whole course is 100% remote right?

Everything is 100% remote and online!

2. Do I need to belong to a specific company?

No need to belong to any specific company or university

3. Can you please also confirm if the prep course classes will take place after work hours (18h)?

The Prep course does not occur at any specific time. You will be working on your own, so you can learn anywhere and anytime at your own pace.

4. The course’s schedule is too intensive for me, can I follow the materials at my own pace instead?

The Prep course’s materials are 100% available on Github, and you can always go through it by yourself at any time. However, when the course is already finished, our instructor team will not be available to assist you with every question you might have. So, try your best to follow the Prep course’ schedule and make the most out of it even though we know it might be hard sometimes!

5. I’ve missed the registration for the Prep Course, but really wanted to prepare for the Academy … What should I do?

The latest published Prep Course materials are publicly available in the ds-prep-course-2025 repository. You can follow them independently and leave feedback by opening an issue.