Computing Setup

Google Colab for Hands-on Exercises

Overview

All hands-on exercises in this workshop use Google Colab, a free cloud-based Python environment. This means:

  • No software installation required
  • Works on any computer with a web browser
  • All packages are pre-installed
  • Your work is automatically saved to Google Drive

Getting Started

Step 1: Google Account

You need a Google account to use Colab. If you don’t have one:

  1. Go to accounts.google.com
  2. Click “Create account”
  3. Follow the setup instructions

Step 2: Access Google Colab

  1. Go to colab.research.google.com
  2. Sign in with your Google account
  3. You should see the Colab welcome screen

Step 3: Test Your Setup

Click the button below to open the test notebook from our shared Google Drive:

Open Test Notebook
Tip

All workshop notebooks are available in our Shared Google Drive folder. Open any .ipynb file with Google Colab by right-clicking and selecting “Open with > Google Colaboratory”.

Run all cells to verify your environment is working.

Workshop Notebooks

During the workshop, you’ll access notebooks via badges like this:

Open In Colab

Each hands-on session page includes a Colab badge linking directly to that exercise.

Saving Your Work

Option 2: Download

  1. Click File > Download > Download .ipynb
  2. Save the file to your computer

Colab Basics

Running Code

  • Run a cell: Click the play button or press Shift+Enter
  • Run all cells: Click Runtime > Run all
  • Stop execution: Click Runtime > Interrupt execution

Adding Cells

  • Code cell: Click + Code
  • Text cell: Click + Text

Runtime

Colab provides a free GPU/CPU runtime:

  • Sessions disconnect after ~90 minutes of inactivity
  • Maximum session length is ~12 hours
  • Your code is saved, but runtime state is lost on disconnect

Troubleshooting

“Notebook not found”

  • Check your internet connection
  • Make sure you’re signed into Google
  • Try opening in a new incognito window

“Runtime disconnected”

  • This is normal after inactivity
  • Click Reconnect to get a new runtime
  • Re-run your code cells from the beginning

Slow performance

  • Check if you’re using GPU: Runtime > Change runtime type
  • For ML exercises, select T4 GPU

Backup: Local Installation

If Google Colab is unavailable, you can run notebooks locally:

Requirements

  • Python 3.9 or higher
  • pip package manager

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/sysylvia/ethiopia-ds-workshop-2026.git
cd ethiopia-ds-workshop-2026

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Start Jupyter
jupyter notebook

Required Packages

The main packages we’ll use:

  • pandas - Data manipulation
  • numpy - Numerical computing
  • scikit-learn - Machine learning
  • matplotlib - Visualization
  • seaborn - Statistical visualization

Need Help?

During the workshop, raise your hand and an instructor will assist you.

Before the workshop, contact: [workshop-support@email.com]