Decision Trees and Ensemble Methods in Machine Learning (Jul 2025) - NCI

This workshop is being run as part of a collaboration between QCIF and National Computational Infrastructure (NCI).

Decision trees are a fundamental supervised learning method that form the backbone of many powerful ensemble models. In this interactive online workshop, participants will learn the theory behind decision trees, including how they split data, handle overfitting, and work with both classification and regression problems. We will also explore advanced tree-based methods, including Random Forests, Gradient Boosting, and XGBoost. Through coding exercises in Python (Scikit-Learn, XGBoost), attendees will build and fine-tune decision tree models on real-world datasets. By the end of the session, participants will have a solid understanding of decision trees, their strengths and weaknesses, and when to apply ensemble learning techniques. No prior machine learning experience is required, but basic Python and statistics knowledge are recommended.

This workshop will take place from 9:30-1:30pm, Wednesday 16th July 2025. Please only register if you can fully commit to attending.

FAQs

What should I bring into the event?

This is an online workshop, so you will need to provide your own computer, and have access to a reliable internet connection sufficient for video conferencing. A second monitor is highly recommended. This workshop will run on NCI Australian Research Environment (ARE) platform. Instructions to access the NCI ARE platform will be provided prior to the workshop.  

Chromebooks and tablets are not suitable for this workshop; you will need a full-function computer.

What prior experience do I need?

• Basic Python knowledge (Completing either ‘Introduction to Python (NCI)’ workshop or the Carpentries ‘Introduction to Programming: Plotting and Programming in Python’).
• Understanding of fundamental classification concepts (recommended but not required).

Who should attend?

This workshop is open to all researchers from Australian Universities and Australian researchers currently using or interested in using the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI).

This workshop is ideal for researchers, data scientists, and professionals looking to apply decision trees and ensemble methods to their datasets.

How can I contact the organiser with any questions?

You can email training@qcif.edu.au

What's the cancellation policy?

Cancellations are accepted up to 48h before the start of the workshop. If you do not join on the day without having cancelled beforehand, you may be blocked from attending any future QCIF training workshops.