Large Language Models for Research (Oct 2025) - NCI

This workshop will take place on Monday 27 October 2025, 10am-2pm AEDT / 9am-1pm AEST.

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

Large Language Models (LLMs), such as Llama, GPT, and Mistral, are transforming how researchers discover, manage, and analyse information. In this interactive 4-hour workshop, participants will be introduced to practical, reproducible workflows using LLMs for literature review, data preparation, coding, analysis, and research writing. By interacting with LLMs via Python and Jupyter Notebooks, participants will learn how to automate summarisation and organisation of scientific literature using an LLM. They will build a simple Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) workflow to answer research questions. Understand how to generate and debug code with natural language prompts and discover how an LLM can be used to clean up messy text data and structure results for analysis.

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 the NCI ARE platform via a web browser. Setup instructions will be provided prior to the workshop.

What prior experience do I need?

Basic Python knowledge (for example, having completed either ‘Introduction to Python (NCI)’ or the Software Carpentry ‘Introduction to Programming: Plotting and Programming in Python’)

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 course is ideal for researchers across disciplines looking to integrate LLMs into their research workflow with minimal technical barriers.

How can I contact the organiser with any questions?

You can email training@qcif.edu.au.

What's the cancellation policy?

Cancellations may be made up to 3 working days prior to 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.