LHCb Starterkit

LHCb Starterkit

Starterkit is a group of physicists who want to improve the working lives of young researchers working on the LHCb experiment.

We create and organise workshops that cover topics ranging from basic programming skills, such as using Bash and Python, up to in-depth explorations of the LHCb software.

Always feeling stuck?

The goal of Starterkit is to demystify the LHCb software. If you've ever felt like you're not sure why you're writing the code you're writing, or not sure what code you even need to write, we can help you.

From the bottom up

We start from the very basics, each lesson building on the last. Once you understand the details and how things fit together, you have the power to learn more on your own.

Up-to-date

Our workshops are usually held twice per year, and we check that the code in the lessons is up-to-date and that it works. Never be frustrated by outdated tutorials again.

Join the collaboration

Attendees of the workshops are generally Master's and PhD students. You'll get to meet nice people doing interesting things, getting to know the people who make ‘LHCb’ what it is.

Become a pro

Not just for beginners, we also hold workshops for learning the advanced aspects of LHCb software. At the end of the workshop, everyone hacks on little, unique projects.

Pay it forward

Starterkit is made up of young researchers who write and teach all the material. You can contribute to all the lessons, and you can join us to teach and to help at the next workshop.

The material

All of the lessons we teach in the workshops are available online, so that you can study at your own pace either before or after a workshop. We strive to make the lessons compact, correct, and the best reference for performing particular tasks.

The lessons are divided in to beginner lessons, which are useful for students just starting with LHCb and those who don't feel comfortable with the software they're using, and advanced lessons, where some topics may not be useful to everyone, but give students a deeper understand of how and why things work the way they do.

The workshops

So far, Starterkit has organised two types of workshops: Starterkits, for early PhD and Master's students who need an introduction to LHCb and its software; and Impactkits, where more experienced students can learn advanced analysis techniques and hack on new ideas.

Upcoming and future workshops

This is the list of workshops that will happen soon and that we plan to hold in the future. We send out emails to the lhcb-general mailing list when the registration is open.

Previous workshops

This is the list of workshops we've held so far.

Contribute

The lessons are hosted on GitHub, and we encourage all readers and participants to fork, edit, and create the content. If you spot a problem with any of the lessons, such as if an example no longer works or something needs further clarification, please open an issue on the respective repository.

The success of Starterkit workshop depends the new people taking over from the current cohort. If you're interested in helping the next batch of students be efficient, confident, and happy working on LHCb, you can become a helper or a teacher in a workshop. You don't have to be a coding wizard or an LHCb master, just enthusiastic about helping people. Please get in touch.