Programming on the Vlaai recently kicked off with a successful first session, introducing 20 participants to R, a leading programming language for statistical analysis and data visualization. Professor. Dr. Wolfgang Viechtbauer provided an overview of R and guided participants through R during a Code-Along session.

The event was well received. One participant praised the workshop’s excellent preparation and facilitation, describing it as “the best short workshop I have attended in years” and noting that they “learned a lot in just two hours.” The traditional slice of Limburgse vlaai was also appreciated as part of the informal and welcoming atmosphere.

Did you miss the first session or would you like to further develop your scientific programming skills? Two additional sessions are scheduled for this autumn. Each workshop features a brief introduction to a programming-related topic, followed by opportunities to learn, share experiences, and connect with fellow participants over a slice of vlaai.

Workshop on documentation and reproducibility

During this special edition of Programming on the Vlaai at Maastricht Computing Days, the Research Software Steward of the University Library will host an interactive LEGO-block workshop on code documentation and reproducibility. The workshop will explore common challenges in documenting code, discuss good practices, and introduce tools that can help make code easier to understand, use, and reproduce. Good documentation is essential for making research code and software understandable, reusable, and accessible to others. It also supports the FAIR principles by helping research software become more Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. Well-documented and accessible code increases the potential impact of research and facilitates collaboration and reuse.

When: 29 October 2026, from 10:00 until 13:00.
Where: At Maastricht University, location to be determined.
For whom: Researchers and students of Maastricht University.
Registration: Documentation and Reproducibility

R for qualitative data – For total newbies

This session will feature R for qualitative researchers by Szilvia Zörgő, postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. During this workshop, we will explore the fundamentals of working with textual data using the programming language R. We will explore use cases and do some digital experimentation ourselves, focused on topics such as qualitative coding and data segmentation, visualization, and analytical innovation. Our discussions will involve the epistemic affordances and constraints of tools, as well as the potential benefits of machine-readability. The session will be light on programming, heavy on discussion and experimentation, with occasional peeks up the mechanical magician’s sleeve.

When: 24 of November 2026, from 15:00 until 17:00.
Where: At Maastricht University, the location is to be determined.
For whom: Researchers and students of Maastricht University.
Registration: R for qualitative data – For total newbies

More information

Want to know more about the Programming CAFEs and what they offer? Check out the post about their launch or visit the Programming on the Vlaai website.