LA-CoNGA physics
Helping build an Erasmus+ collaboration in advanced physics and open education, from programme design to teaching and CoAfina.
From the initial design
I co-founded LA-CoNGA physics and helped to organise it, contributing to the initiative from its earliest design. The Erasmus+ project connected universities and scientific partners in Latin America and Europe through advanced physics education.
In the programme’s 2020 discussions, I described the approach I wanted to teach: understanding the full workflow, from collecting and structuring data to analysing it, visualising the results and storing them.
Exhibit 1DiagramRead left to right
Three roles, one workflow
Design, teach, help organise: the three things I did in LA-CoNGA physics. Underneath them, the workflow I wanted every student to own, from collecting data to storing results with an identifier.
Shared teaching responsibilities
For the first cohort in 2021, I shared responsibility for teaching research software engineering with Juan Carlos Basto Pineda, and for practical projects in high-energy physics with Javier Solano.
The emphasis was on making an analysis understandable and reproducible, connecting code, data, computing environments and the communication of results.
The connection with CoAfina
I also helped create and co-organise CoAfina within this wider community. At its first edition, held on 6–8 May 2022, I proposed challenges based on atmospheric data and particle physics, and mentored participating teams.
CoAfina returned for its second edition on 20–22 October 2023, bringing students together to solve scientific and educational challenges using open data.
Exhibit 2ResourcesOpen the thing itself, not a description of it
Where to go from here
- RecordMy public CERN School of Computing teaching slides (2026)indico.cern.chMy introductory biography identifies my role as a co-founder of LA-CoNGA physics.
- ArticleLA-CoNGA: from data to knowledge (14 July 2020)laconga.redclara.netThe project’s article names my participation and quotes my description of the planned approach to data analysis and teaching.
- ProgrammeLA-CoNGA’s first-cohort teaching programme (2021)laconga.redclara.netNames the responsibilities I shared with Juan Carlos Basto Pineda in research software engineering and with Javier Solano in high-energy physics projects.
- ArticleThe project’s report on the first CoAfina (16 May 2022)laconga.redclara.netRecords the 6–8 May event, names me as an organising-team member, and documents my challenges and the team mentoring.
- ArticleThe project’s report on CoAfina’s second edition (30 November 2023)laconga.redclara.netConfirms the second edition on 20–22 October 2023 and records my closing contribution as an INAIT representative.
- TrainingMy LA-CoNGA class: Git, Jupyter and code (2021)laconga.redclara.net
Sources & further reading
- My public CERN School of Computing teaching slides (2026)
- LA-CoNGA: from data to knowledge (14 July 2020)
- LA-CoNGA’s first-cohort teaching programme (2021)
- The project’s report on the first CoAfina (16 May 2022)
- The project’s report on CoAfina’s second edition (30 November 2023)
- My LA-CoNGA class: Git, Jupyter and code (2021)