Agenda Templates

This page provides example agenda templates for different types of NWB workshops. These templates can be customized to fit your specific event needs.

NWB + DANDI Overview Workshop Template

Learning objective: Attendees will learn about the NWB and DANDI software ecosystem, from data conversion and data publication to data reuse.

Estimated duration: 1 day. The talks can be covered in a half day, and the remaining time can be used for conversion projects, discussion, or 1:1 support.

Prerequisites / requirements: None, this workshop is intended for people new to the NWB ecosystem.

Previous examples: NWB and DANDI Workshop at University of Washington, NWB and DANDI Workshop at CoSyNe 2025, NWB and DANDI Workshop at UNAM

Example Agenda

Start TimeEnd TimeDurationTopicType
9:00 AM10:00 AM1 hourIntroduction to NWB and DANDITalk
10:00 AM11:00 AM1 hourConverting data to NWBTalk
11:00 AM11:45 AM45 minUsing the DANDI ArchiveTalk
11:45 AM12:30 PM45 minAnalyzing and streaming data on DANDITalk

Community Hackathon Template

Learning objective: Attendees will conduct development projects to contribute to the NWB software ecosystem.

Estimated duration: 3 days. Most of the time is spent on hacking. Depending on the group, it can be helpful to host breakout discussions for specific topics of interest. The hackathon concludes with final project presentations.

Prerequisites / requirements: This is not a training event, so some level of familiarity with NWB is helpful though not required.

Previous examples: NWB Developer Hackathon 2024, Developer Days 2023, Developer Days 2022

Example Agenda

Day 1

The first day provides an overview of the hackathon and highlights planned breakout discussions

Start TimeEnd TimeDurationTopicType
9:00 AM9:15 AM15 minWelcome to the HackathonTalk
9:15 AM9:45 AM30 minDeveloper updates on NWBTalk
9:45 AM10:30 AM45 minProject overviewsTalk
10:30 AM12:00 PM1.5 hoursProject HackingHack
12:00 PM1:00 PM1 hourLunchDiscussion
1:00 PM2:00 PM1 hourBreakout discussion topic #1Discussion
2:00 PM3:30 PM1.5 hoursProject HackingHack
3:30 PM3:45 PM30 minBreakDiscussion
3:45 PM5:15 PM1.5 hoursProject HackingHack

Day 2

Start TimeEnd TimeDurationTopicType
9:00 AM9:05 AM5 minWelcome to the hackathonTalk
9:05 AM12:00 PM3 hoursProject HackingHack
12:00 PM1:00 PM1 hourLunchDiscussion
1:00 PM2:00 PM1 hourBreakout discussion topic #2Discussion
2:00 PM3:30 PM1.5 hoursProject HackingHack
3:30 PM3:45 PM30 minBreakDiscussion
3:45 PM5:15 PM1.5 hoursProject HackingHack

Day 3

Start TimeEnd TimeDurationTopicType
9:00 AM9:05 AM5 minWelcome to the hackathonTalk
9:05 AM12:00 PM3 hoursProject HackingHack
12:00 PM1:00 PM1 hourLunchDiscussion
1:00 PM2:00 PM1 hourProject HackingHack
2:00 PM4:00 PM2 hoursFinal project presentationsDiscussion
4:00 PM4:15 PM15 minBreakDiscussion
4:15 PM5:15 PM1 hourGroup discussion and feedbackDiscussion

Data Reuse Workshop Template

Learning objective: Attendees will learn how to work with data on DANDI and will conduct a data reuse project to re-analyze existing data on NWB.

Estimated duration: 5 days. The first day covers the core material about working with data on DANDI. The second day can focus on additional guest lectures to introduce attendees to different tools and datasets on DANDI. The remaining time can be spent on project hacking / analysis, with the workshop concluding in project presentations.

Prerequisites / requirements: In previous workshops, we have required participants to propose a project with specific dandisets as part of their application. These projects can change throughout the course of the workshop.

Previous examples: NeuroDataReHack 2024, NeuroDataReHack 2023, NeuroDataReHack 2022

Example Agenda

Day 1

The first day focuses on providing attendees with an introduction to NWB and DANDI and to discuss project plans

Start TimeEnd TimeDurationTopicType
9:00 AM9:30 AM30 minWelcome to the Data Reuse WorkshopTalk
9:30 AM10:30 AM1 hourIntro to NWB and DANDITalk
10:30 AM11:30 AM1 hourHow to read NWB filesTalk
11:30 AM12:30 PM1 hourProject HackingHack
12:30 PM1:30 PM1 hourLunchDiscussion
1:30 PM2:30 PM1 hourA tour of NWB Dandisets and searching toolsTalk
2:30 PM3:00 PM30 minA tour of NWB analysis softwareTalk
3:00 PM3:30 PM30 minBreakTalk
3:30 PM4:30 PM1 hourProject roundtableDiscussion
4:30 PM5:30 PM1 hourSpeed networkingDiscussion

Day 2 - 4

The middle days can include invited speakers for different analysis tools and approaches, with the majority of the time spent on project hacking.

Start TimeEnd TimeDurationTopicType
9:00 AM9:15 AM15 minWelcome to the workshopTalk
9:15 AM11:15 AM2 hoursInvited lecturesTutorial
11:15 AM12:00 PM45 minProject hackingHack
12:00 PM1:00 PM1 hourLunchDiscussion
1:00 PM3:00 PM2 hoursProject hackingHack
3:00 PM3:15 PM15 minRefreshments breakDiscussion
3:15 PM5:15 PM2 hoursProject hackingHack

Day 5

The last day should reserve the majority of time for project presentations and overall discussion and feedback on the workshop and next steps.

Start TimeEnd TimeDurationTopicType
9:00 AM9:15 AM15 minWelcome to the workshopTalk
9:15 AM12:00 PM1.75 hoursProject hackingHack
12:00 PM1:00 PM1 hourLunchDiscussion
1:00 PM4:00 PM3 hoursProject presentationsHack
4:00 PM4:15 PM15 minRefreshments breakDiscussion
4:15 PM5:15 PM1 hourDiscussion and feedbackDiscussion

Data Conversion Workshop Template

Learning objective: Attendees will learn how to convert their data to NWB and publish it on the DANDI Archive.

Estimated duration: 2-3 days. The core material on data conversion can be covered on the first day. Depending on the interests of the audience, additional lectures can be given on domain specific topics or advanced data I/O.

Prerequisites / requirements: Data for conversion.

Previous examples: NWB Data Conversion Workshop 2025, NWB Data Conversion Workshop 2024, NWB User Days 2023

Example Agenda

Day 1

The first day focuses on providing attendees with an introduction to NWB and the conversion tools used.

Start TimeEnd TimeDurationTopicType
9:00 AM9:15 AM15 minWelcome to the Data Conversion WorkshopTalk
9:15 AM10:00 AM45 minOverview of NWBTalk
10:00 AM11:00 AM1 hourNWB GUIDETutorial
11:00 AM12:00 PM1 hourNeuroConv, PyNWB, MatNWBTutorial
12:00 PM12:30 PM30 minProject sharingDiscussion
12:30 PM1:10 PM40 minPublishing data and using the DANDI ArchiveTutorial
1:10 PM5:00 PM4 hoursData conversion hackingHack

Day 2

The second day focuses on domain-specific data conversion. This can be tailored depending on the needs of the audience and the types of data they are using.

Start TimeEnd TimeDurationTopicType
9:00 AM9:10 AM10 minWelcome to the workshopTalk
9:10 AM9:55 AM45 minIntroduction to Extracellular ElectrophysiologyTutorial
9:55 AM10:40 AM45 minIntroduction to Optical PhysiologyTutorial
10:40 AM11:25 AM45 minIntroduction to Intracellular ElectrophysiologyTutorial
11:30 AM4:00 PM4.5 hoursData conversion hackingHack

Day 3

The third day focuses on advanced data topics such as different NWB backends, writing NWB extensions, and using external resources with HERD.

Start TimeEnd TimeDurationTopicType
9:00 AM9:10 AM10 minWelcome to the workshopTalk
9:30 AM10:00 AM30 minAdvanced data I/O and backendsTalk
10:00 AM10:15 AM15 minNWB ExtensionsTalk
10:15 AM10:30 AM15 minIntroduction to terminologies and HERDTalk
10:30 AM12:30 PM2 hoursData conversion hackingHack
12:30 PM1:30 PM1 hourFinal project presentationsDiscussion
1:30 PM2:00 PM30 minWrap-up and final surveysDiscussion