R.M. (Rolando) Gonzales Martinez, PhD

Hands-on Course/Workshop on Artificial Intelligence for Forecasting & Sentiment Analysis

Hybrid Format: In-Person & Online

June 23 to June 26, 2025

Unlock the power of AI with a short yet intensive hands-on 3-day workshop designed to provide you with practical experience in:

• Designing and implementing AI algorithms for forecasting and sentiment analysis, in practice, in Python
• Exploring the latest breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, from spatial machine learning to deep learning and large language models, such as DeepSeek and GPTs
• Engaging in interactive sessions, where you can present your research and receive expert feedback (optional)

By the end of the workshop, participants will have developed practical skills to 

• Apply AI techniques to analyze trends and forecast time series data
• Perform analysis on textual data across different fields
• Gain practical, hands-on coding experience on Python—no prior AI or Python knowledge is required

The workshop blends theory with practice and is open to academics, university students, PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, and professionals looking for:

• An accessible introduction to AI
• A hands-on experience coding AI algorithms from scratch, using a key data science language (Python)
• A comprehensive update on cutting-edge AI developments

No prior experience in AI or Python required—just curiosity and enthusiasm

Course schedule

Learn by Doing: Step-by-step guided hands-on AI applications

Instead of narrowing into a single discipline, the workshop unlocks a world of possibilities by diving into AI’s transformative impact across diverse fields. Together, we’ll explore a wide range of real-world applications step-by-step, working side-by-side to jointly master practical techniques. You’ll learn by doing as we:        

• Build population forecasting and fertility projection models with AI algorithms based on memory cells
• Develop credit scoring systems in finance with machine learning
• Create tumor detection tools for breast cancer with deep learning
• Analyze climate change sentiment of experts' opinions with Natural Language Processing (NLP)
• Conduct 5-minute systematic literature reviews with DeepSeek’s

By the end of the course/workshop, you’ll not only understand AI’s potential—you’ll have the hands-on experience to implement these solutions yourself. Get ready to bridge theory with practice as we explore AI in action, one example at a time!

Certificate of attendance

All participants (in-person and virtual) will receive a Certificate of Attendance from the University of Groningen, free of charge. The University of Groningen is proud to be among the world’s top 100 universities worldwide. Participants will be neither evaluated nor graded

Practical information

Registration and Secure Payment Link

To register for the course/workshop, please click the link below (opens in a new tab):
Register Here

Lecturer

Dr. Rolando Gonzales Martinez is a researcher at the University of Oxford and a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at the Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen. His current research focuses on applying machine learning and deep learning techniques to survey data integrated with satellite imagery. He holds a PhD from Universitetet i Agder (Norway) and an MSc in Applied Statistics from the University of Alcalá (Spain). His doctoral dissertation, rooted in Feyerabend’s anarchistic theory of knowledge, explored the distinctions between theory-driven and data-driven science, with practical applications to nanofinance groups in Africa.

Dr. Gonzales Martinez has held several prestigious positions, including postdoctoral data scientist at CASUS (Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany), postdoctoral researcher at the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI) of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, and postdoctoral consultant for various institutions such as the University of Groningen, the Centre for Demographic Studies at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, the University of Amsterdam, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), AjoCard (a digital finance initiative in Africa), and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI, University of Oxford).

In addition to his research, Dr. Gonzales Martinez holds a University Teaching Qualification (BKO), certifying his pedagogical competence for academic education. He has also published extensively on machine learning and deep learning in peer-reviewed journals, contributing to the advancement of these fields.

External opinions

"The content is amazing! It’s a very rare workshop that jumps straight into the topic, giving you both theory AND hands on experience"

Kristina Bietina

Business Intelligence Analyst