Frequently Asked Questions
The summer school will take place in Amherst, MA, on the campus of UMass Amherst.
Do you provide certification?
The summer school is an informal workshop meant to serve the research community, and as such it is not accredited to offer diplomas. Every attendee will receive an unaccredited attestation of their participation with description of the covered material on request.
Will personal laptops be required?
Bringing a personal laptop on which attendees can install and administer open source software is highly encouraged (e.g. Julia, Python, Rust, git, etc). A great deal of lecture content will be meant to be interactive and attendees will also have the opportunity to join for hackathons.
The organizers will not be able to provide laptops.
Power outlets and extension cords will be available in all lecture halls and workspaces.
What are the internet connectivity options on campus?
Both Eduroam and guest access options exist for internet connectivity.
What is included in the registration cost?
Lodging, meals, and lectures are included in the cost.
What are the housing facilities?
The Commonwealth Honors College Residential Community (CHCRC) Residence Halls house four people per suite. Each air-conditioned suite has two double-occupancy bedrooms, a shared common area, and one shared bathroom. The two double-occupancy bedrooms are each furnished with two twin beds, two desks, and two bureaus. Each guest will be provided with a linen pack containing two flat sheets, a pillow with case, two towels, and a thin blanket. Guests will be housed with three other CICS attendees (one in the same bedroom, two in the adjacent bedroom in the suite) based on gender unless a specific suitemate or alternate preference is requested. Toiletries are also NOT included. If you have any additional housing requests, including accessibility needs, please enter those on signup. Based on previous years, check-in is often available after 3 p.m. on Sunday, June 21, and check-out is typically by noon on Saturday, June 27. Check-in/out details are still being finalized for 2026: a detailed arrival email will be sent prior to the start of the summer school. Check-in and check-out times, as well as detailed arrival procedures, will be sent out to all registered guests as the summer school approaches.
Anything to pre-install on my computer?
Have the following pre-installed (we will help if these are giving you trouble):
some python environment that is not your default system's environment (it is dangerous to reuse the system's python for dev work as the OS might be using it for something else); I (Stefan) personally use
uvas it is better thanpipandcondaand the rest of the Cambrian explosion of more recent optionshave a good terminal emulator – mac and linux users are probably fine with their defaults (although I (Stefan) would suggest checking out the
fishshell), but windows users could benefit from installing Windows Terminal (comes with Win 11, can be found in the MS store for Win 10)install the
juliaupmanaging tool with which you can install and manage different versions of julia (no need to install julia in any other way)install VS Code unless you are already an experience user of another IDE; install the Julia plugin for VS Code