This workshop is built around a common scientific task: data analysis. The course will teach you the basic concepts required for programming and some of the core tools available in MATLAB.
Difficulty rating: ★★☆☆ Beginner
Who is it for?
- Both research staff and research students
Summary of the topics covered
- To become familiar with how to launch MATLAB and navigate the interface
- To understand how MATLAB works with variables and arrays
- To be able to process and visualise data
- To understand how to create, save, and re-run programs and functions
- To become familiar with core programming concepts such as loops and statements
Prerequisites
- Understand the concepts of files and directories, and the concept of a "working directory".
- Know how to start up MATLAB, and access the command window (which generally has a
>> prompt).
- Know how to create, edit and save text files.
Frequency
3 times a year
Duration
6 hours (over 2 half days)
Next course
4th (10:00 - 13:00) & 5th (13:00 - 16:00) November 2025 Book here
Can't attend?
We also have access to MATLAB training materials, see these sites –
https://uk.mathworks.com/academia/tah-portal/university-of-birmingham-40472096.html
https://kb.bham.ac.uk/KB13246
You can see a recording of a previous course in Canvas - https://canvas.bham.ac.uk/enroll/TRPBDB
Course materials: https://github.com/swcarpentry/matlab-novice-inflammation
We also have a MATLAB Canvas course.
User Group
There is a MATLAB user group with links to resources and contacts.
Help with MATLAB
If you need help with using MATLAB, you can contact our Research Software Group for advice. Or you can raise a ServiceDesk ticket with us, or attend one of our drop-in sessions.