Fundamentals of Natural Language Processing in Python

This workshop will provide participants with the fundamentals of Natural Language Processing (NLP) in Python.

The workshop will take place at Science Park 402, 1098 XH Amsterdam. Please note that lunch and drinks at the end of the workshop are included.

The lessons in this workshop teach the fundamentals of Natural Language Processing (NLP) in Python. They will equip you with the foundational skills and knowledge needed to carry over text-based research projects. The lesson is designed with researchers in the Humanities and Social Sciences in mind, but is also applicable to other fields of research.

On the first day we will dive into the importance of linguistic principles when dealing with text data, we will also teach basic techniques for text preprocessing and understand the principles behind word embeddings. The second day begins with an introduction to transformers, followed by hands-on work on classification tasks with the BERT model including basic evaluation techniques. In the afternoon, we will cover large language language models, learn to work locally with open source models and understand potential drawbacks and biases when using this technology.

The workshop is based on the teaching style of the Carpentries, and learners will follow along while the instructors write the code on screen. More information can be found on the workshop website (will be activated once registration is live).

Ticket Prices

Ticket prices are as follows:

• For participants affiliated with Dutch research institutions: €225.00
• For participants from industry: €675.00

Prerequisites

The workshop is aimed at PhD candidates, postdocs, (assistant-)professors and other researchers and also open for research support staff and research software engineers. We offer tickets for researchers who are affiliated with Dutch research institutions. We do not accept registrations by Master students.

The participant should:

• be familiar with Python
• be comfortable working in Jupyter

Early Bird Discount

Register within the first week of open registration and receive a 25% discount on your participation fee. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to secure your spot at a reduced price!

Group Discount

Bring your team along and benefit from our group discount. Groups of five or more participants are eligible for a 25% discount. For more details and to register your group, please email us at training@esciencecenter.nl.

Cancellation

If you won’t be able to attend, please cancel your registration (by following instructions here) so that we can offer your seat to someone on the waiting list.

Syllabus

Introduction

• What is Natural Language Processing (NLP)?
• Why learn NLP fundamentals?
• Defining NLP Tasks
• Preprocessing Operations
• A primer on linguistics

From text to vectors:

• NLP Pipeline
• Word Embeddings
• Exploring Word2Vec
• Train your own Word2Vec
• Topic Modelling

BERT and Transformers:

• Transformer Architecture
• Introduction to BERT
• BERT as a Language Model
• BERT for Text Classification
• Evaluating Classifiers

Large Language Models

• What are Large Language Models (LLMs)?
• Prompting to solve NLP Tasks
• Using local LLMs
• Drawbacks and biases in LLMs