# Training overview Determine whether MATLAB is for you! During this free, online workshop you will discover the MATLAB environment, learn how to define variables, and perform basic calculations on vectors and matrices. The so-called “Matrix Laboratory” is an interactive and intuitive programming language which can handle large data sets and performs matrix manipulations especially well. MATLAB is popular in Science and Engineering, and is often used by researchers for data analysis and visualisation. ## Learning objectives This training series aims to enable students to: * Determine whether MATLAB is for you. * Become familiar with the MATLAB interface. * Assign variables and use MATLAB as a calculator. ## Skills * Analytical skills: the ability to construct and express logical arguments and to work in abstract or general terms to increase the clarity and efficiency of analysis; * Collaborative skills: the ability to work in a team; * Computational skills: the ability to adapt existing computational methods and tools to complete a target task; * Problem solving skills: the ability to engage with unfamiliar problems and identify relevant solution strategies. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://meirian.gitbook.io/matlab/welcome/overview.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.