Advanced Scientific Programming in Python

© 2014, Xodi

Reading is situated a mere 25 minutes away West of London by train. It is a lively University town, and home to most global high tech companies on this side of Earth. Every year, Reading is host to the Reading Festival, which just so happens to be organised a week before the summer school… :) The town itself has nothing extraordinary, but one can enjoy pubs by the Thames, a decent shopping district with a wide selection of restaurants, movie theatres, etc.

For local matters, please contact the local team at python-team@g-node.org.

Please check if you are required to have a visa to enter UK. In case you do, remember to apply soon enough ;)

The summer school is organised on the Whiteknights Campus (google map), which is the main campus of the University of Reading (official info). Neighbouring London, Reading is very accessible. The Whiteknights Campus is also where most of the student accommodation halls are located.

Reading train station is a mainline train station and is easily accessible from most other places in the UK (http://nationalrail.co.uk). There are direct rail links from many major cities, including Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff, Bristol, and Exeter, as well as a number of routes through London. If you are travelling from or via London, the quickest route to take is from London Paddington station. Trains from London Paddington to Reading run approximately every 15-20 minutes throughout the day and the average journey time is around 30 minutes.

The nearest airport is London Heathrow, 25 miles (40 km) away by road. An express bus service named RailAir (http://www.railair.com/) links Reading train station with Heathrow, or the airport can be accessed by rail by taking the Paddington train and changing to the Heathrow Connect rail service at Hayes and Harlington railway station.

Another airport of choice is Gatwick, 56 miles (90 km) away by road. The easiest way to join Reading from Gatwick is to take the train directly from Gatwick airport (http://nationalrail.co.uk). You can either take direct trains (1h), or change (between 1h30-2h) at Redhill or through London.

Getting to Whiteknights campus from the centre of Reading is easy. The 21 and 21a buses run from Reading train station in the town centre to our Whiteknights campus at regular intervals, 24 hours a day. Note that the venue hosting the summer school is best accessed via bus 17 (stop at the end of the line Three Tuns).

Once you arrive at the train station you can walk or hire a bike to campus. If you choose to take a taxi or bus, the bus stops and taxi rank can be found outside the station. A taxi will cost you approximately £8 and a single bus journey will cost you £1.90 (return £3.60. You will need the exact money as the buses do not give change). See: http://www.reading-buses.co.uk/files/maps/31%20august%2015/claret%2021%20map.pdf

The summer school is hosted by the Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics (CINN), which is part of the School of Psychology. The CINN is located on the East side of campus, on the Earley Gate entrance, in the Harry Pitt building. It's a short and pleasant walk from the bus stop 21/21a, but it is short and might be more convenient to take bus 17 until the end of the line (stop Three Tuns). See: http://www.reading.ac.uk/cinn/about/cinn-findus.aspx

The formal address you can give a taxi is:

Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics
University of Reading
Whiteknights Campus (Earley Gate)
Reading, RG6 6AH (but the postcode for SATNAV/GPS is RG6 7BE)
United-Kingdom

We have made the Reading student accommodation office aware that students for the summer school may contact them, and that they should be placed together. Students interested in accommodation on campus should contact Stay@Reading to arrange the details of their stay with us. When contacting Stay@Reading, be sure to mention that you are attending the “Summer School in Advanced Scientific Programming in Python”. If you need more info or need assistance, don't hesitate to contact the local team at python-team@g-node.org.

The cheapest option is “Visiting Student (external to UoR)” rate of £15.36 per night. Reading students should mention they are student of the University. Staying in the hall is by no means an obligation, and students should feel free to make other arrangements if that's preferable. Summer School Faculty are lodged together in a nearby hall.

More information:

• stay@reading.ac.uk
• http://www.reading.ac.uk/ready-to-study/accommodation/stay/stay-room-costs.aspx
• http://www.reading.ac.uk/ready-to-study/accommodation/stay.aspx

Other options include:

• The Cedars Hotel (the bnb on campus)
• http://elmhursthotel.co.uk/ (10 minutes walking to the venue)
• http://www.hillingdonprince.co.uk/ (10 minutes walking to campus; 20 minutes to the venue)
• http://www.thetowerhousehotel.co.uk/ (20 minutes walking to the venue)
• IBIS Hotel (by the train station)
• Novotel (by the train station)
• Mercure hotel (in town centre)
• and of course have a look at: http://www.lastminute.com/hotels/city/hotels-in-Reading-GB

The summer school is hosted by the Centre of Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, at the School of Psychology. It is an interdisciplinary research centre, host to a Siemens Prisma 3T, TMS, EEG, joint EEG-fMRI and HPC facilities.

Breakfast If you have elected to have breakfast with Stay@Reading, it will be served at Eat at the Square, in the middle of campus and on your way to CINN, 07:30–09:00.

Lunch and Coffee/Tea breaks There a number of options to have lunch, which we will explain when you are here—see also the magic map. Coffee/Tea will be served in the Psych Common Room.

Dinner You are free to organise yourselves the way you want in the evenings. The easiest might be join the ASPP Tutors at the Senior Common Room, at Park House, but you can seize the opportunity to wander in town instead, if you don't feel like coding any more.

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Welcome party We are prepared to welcoming you all on Sunday 4th, and will be at the CINN from 16:00 onwards. Weather permitting, we will be seated around the building, on the wooden benches, outside what we call the Psych Common Room, in the School of Psychology (Harry Pitt building). There will be signage installed. Please use the magic map to orient yourselves (https://python.g-node.org/wiki/location); you are all staying at the same place on campus (green on the map), and the CINN is a short walk across campus (purple on the map). We will be ordering pizza at some point.

Social event 1: Pepe Sale On Wednesday, we will all go to Pepe Sale (http://pepesale.co.uk), in town (orange on the magic map).

Social event 2: Music Jamming session On Saturday 10th, after the Pelita contest, we will go to a different building to listen and play some music, in the ex-SSE common room (orange on the magic map). A few of us play, and will have instruments installed. By all means, do bring you favourite instrument - Don't be shy!!