In today's data-driven complex business environment, data science assists companies and businesses in making efficient and sharp business decisions and allows them to communicate effectively with their clients. Data science is the field of representing big data in an organized and meaningful manner through utilizing programing skills together with statistics and mathematics. Python is one of the popular programming languages that is being used extensively by  data scientists to produce meaningful insights from raw data. Compared to the other programing languages such as R, Python has features like sets of libraries and a simple interface that leverage it over other programming languages to become one of the most popular programing languages. 

Considering the integral role of data science in solving  real-world policy issues and equipping  future leaders with modern market demanded skills, KDI School of Public Policy and Management has been offering training courses in data analysis software such as STATA and programming languages including R and Python. Recently, the School conducted a 4 week (January 10, - February 6, 2022) online Python workshop through DataCamp, which is an online specialized education platform in data science and artificial intelligence. It offers courses in data science through different programming languages, including python. 

The workshop was conducted under the title of "Introduction to Python" with the objective of preparing students for the regular courses in data science offered by the school. The content of the workshop was the combination of 11 short expert videos and 57 exercises to assist the participants in acquiring both basic knowledge and skill.  Since the content was self-guided, the students were required to complete the courses and exercises within the designated period. Moreover, the training was overwhelmingly welcomed by the participants as around 200 were enrolled for the training, out of which 55 % (110) students  completed the workshop within the specified period. 

 Furthermore, compared to other e-learning platforms, students have   used the DataCamp as a stepping stone to achieve clear goals and motivations for learning Python. According to the result of the satisfaction survey, in which 80 students  participated, the average score for all questions was 4.76 out of 5, which indicates a high level of satisfaction. Moreover, it shows that the online workshop through DataCamp was an effective and convenient means of learning for students. It is worth mentioning that students have shown high willingness to participate in this kind of workshops.  

In a face to face interview, some of the participants stated that for the beginners in the field of  data science, learning programing languages like Python through DataCamp is the best choice because it gives you the option to re-watch videos and complete hands-on exercises at your own convenience and own pace. Furthermore, they believed that the workshop was organized very  well and so enabled them to gain a solid grounding in the  basics of coding with Python.  One of the participants indicated that “for some students the workshop might be very basic but for me it was an eye-opening workshop in the field of data science because previously this kind of workshop was out of my access”. Not only this, he further expressed that “another advantage of training through DataCamp was that the platform provided an electronic certificate of compellation”. 

In addition to a convenient learning environment, conducting online workshops via DataCam permits participants to manage and use their time excellently; for the School, it is also a cost-efficient method of delivering training to the targeted audience with an outstanding outcome. Therefore, to boost the competency of  students, prepare them to compete in the technologically-driven job environment, and enable them to develop and implement innovative solutions to the multidimensional world issues, KDIs may consider offering different programming languages and statistical program courses through such online platforms in the future.