This page collects information that is relevant to students that were just accepted into the SIMCODES program. For your convenience there is a task-list at the bottom which summarizes what you are expected to do.
Table of Contents
Specific Information Your Welcome Email Should Include
- Link to join the Slack space.
- What dorm/apartment you will be staying in.
- Move-in/Move-out dates.
- Link to a pre-survey.
- Deadlines for tasks.
Communication and Updates
The SIMCODES organization relies on three methods of communication:
- Email for initial contact and important announcements.
- Emails will usually come from the PI and/or Co-PI.
- Slack for day-to-day communication.
- Similar to Microsoft Teams or other communication platforms.
- Preferred because of its price tag (i.e., free) and cross-platform nature.
- GitHub for discussions related to source code.
- All projects will involve developing software deployed on GitHub.
- GitHub has a number of built-in features that make it easier to collaborate on code. We will leverage a number of these features.
Your welcome email will contain a link to join the Slack space. You will need to send the PI or Co-PI your GitHub username in order to be added to the SIMCODES GitHub organization. In order to ensure you do not miss announcements you are strongly encouraged to join Slack and GitHub as soon as possible.
Travel Arrangements
The closest commercial airport to Ames, IA is the Des Moines Airport (DSM). It is about a 40-minute taxi, Uber, or Lyft ride from DSM to ISU. If you opt to fly to Ames we will request that you send us your preferred itinerary as soon as possible and we will have ISU book your flights. We will also try to have ISU arrange transportation from DSM to ISU. Please do NOT book flights yourself, unless the PI or Co-PI have authorized it.
For a driving perspective, Ames is about 200 miles from Minneapolis, MN and Lincoln, NE and 350 miles from Chicago, IL and St. Louis, MO. SIMCODES is willing to reimburse mileage at the ISU rate (up to the cost of an airline ticket). ISU’s mileage rate changes from year-to-year, but is typically around $0.35/mile. Current rate can be found here. If you are driving you must send the PI or Co-PI your license plate number and the state it was issued in.
Regardless of whether you fly or drive, SIMCODES is willing to cover any REASONABLE travel expenses you encounter (e.g., your meals or snacks). For us to do this you must save receipts.
Initial Assignments
Between receiving your welcome email and the time you get to Ames, we would like you to take some time to complete some initial tasks detailed below.
Rank Research Projects
Over the next week, please read over the SIMCODES, paying particular attention to the Projects and Mentors sections. Each project includes a number of sub-projects, you will be working on one sub-project during your stay. Your task is to rank the top-three sub-projects you want to work on.
Sub-Projects are identified with the heading “What You’ll Do”. Please send, via Slack or email, your preferences.
Student Profile
Another major component of SIMCODES will be using GitHub. To that end, we ask that you sign up for GitHub, send your profile name to Ryan, and get familiar with the basics of GitHub. To demonstrate that you’ve nailed the basics, we will ask you to create a profile for the SIMCODES page (similar to the profiles for each mentor). If you do not feel comfortable with having a profile page on the SIMCODES site, you do not have to do this; we would instead ask you to propose some other change to the website (e.g., find a typo or sentence that could be written better).
We note that GitHub will allow you to directly upload files through the website, as opposed to using Git directly. Git will be covered during the bootcamp. If you are not familiar with Git, feel free to directly upload files to GitHub in order to complete this task.
Initial Readings
We strongly encourage you to consider perusing the “Resources” page of the SIMCODES website. In particular, if you are new to GitHub, Linux, and Python, read through https://simcodes-isu.github.io/student-resources/. If you get stuck or have questions, Slack is again a great place to ask. Ideally, when the bootcamp starts, every student will be able to open a Linux terminal, write a Python script that prints “Hello SIMCODES!” and run said script.
Other Useful Links
Task Checklist
- Sign up for GitHub and send GitHub username to PI or Co-PI.
- Join the SIMCODES Slack space.
- Fill out the forms in the form link.
- Tell us your preferred flights (if flying), or your license plate number and state if driving (do NOT book flights yourself).
- Rank your preferred research projects.
- Create your profile.
- Get excited!