Course curriculum
This course teaches delegates to build microsimulation models in base R. It shows how to use vectorization, parallelization and C++ integration (through Rcpp) to considerably improve the run-time of microsimulation models. Follow at your own pace, with 12 months access to extensive course materials, code demos and exercises.
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Welcome
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Lesson Preview - Code Optimisation
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Code download
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Coursebook
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Live code clinics
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Lesson Objectives
FREE PREVIEW -
Content Overview
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Objects Presentation
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Objects Quiz
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Objects Code Walkthrough
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Objects Exercise
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Functions Presentation
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Functions Quiz
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Functions Code Walkthrough
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Functions Brainteaser
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Functions Exercise
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Loops & Iterations Presentation
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Loops Code
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Loops Quiz
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Loops Exercise
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Lapply Code
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Iteration Quiz
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Iterations Exercise
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Code Optimisation
FREE PREVIEW -
Code Optimisation Quiz
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Code Clinic
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Additional Resources
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Lesson Objectives
FREE PREVIEW -
Content Overview
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Background - Presentation
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*Optional: NICE DSU Technical Support Document 15 - summary
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Background Quiz
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Matrix Multiplication - Presentation
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Matrix Multiplication Quiz
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Model Overview and Notation - Presentation
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Probabilities - Presentation
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Probabilities - Exercises & Solutions
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Probabilities Quiz
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Sample - Presentation
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Sample - Quiz
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Costs - Presentation
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Costs - Quiz
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Costs - Exercises & Solutions
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Effects - Presentation
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Effects - Quiz
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Effects - Exercises & Solutions
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Run Microsim - Presentation
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Run Microsim Quiz
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Run Microsim - Exercises & Solutions
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Code Clinic
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Lesson Objectives
FREE PREVIEW -
Content Overview
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Overview and Notation - Presentation
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Probabilities 2 - Presentation
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Probabilities 2 - Quiz
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Probabilities 2 - Exercises & Solutions
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Costs 2 - Presentation
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Costs 2 - Quiz
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Costs 2 - Exercises & Solutions
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Effects 2 - Presentation
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Effects 2 - Quiz
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Effects 2 - Exercises & Solutions
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Run Microsim 2 - Presentation
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Microsim 2 - Quiz
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Run Microsim 2 - Exercises & Solutions
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* Optional - adding covariates to calc_costs2
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Code Clinic
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Lesson Objectives
FREE PREVIEW -
Content Overview
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Performance Optimisation Strategies
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Performance Optimisation Quiz
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Overview of Vectorised Microsimulation
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Probabilities - Presentation
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Probabilities - Quiz
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Probabilities - Exercises & Solutions
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Sampling - Presentation
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Sampling - Quiz
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Sampling - Exercises and Solutions
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Costs - Presentation
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Costs - Quiz
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Costs - Solutions and Exercises
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Effects - Presentation
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Effects - Quiz
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Effects - Solutions and Exercises
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Discounting - Presentation
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Discounting - Quiz
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Discounting - Solutions and Exercises
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Microsim - Presentation
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Microsim - Quiz
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Microsim - Solutions and Exercises
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Additional: Triangular Matrices - Presentation
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Additional: Triangular Matrices - Quiz
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Code Clinic
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Lesson Objectives
FREE PREVIEW -
Content Overview
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Introduction to PSA - Presentation
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Introduction to PSA - Quiz
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PSA Function Code - Presentation
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PSA Function Code - Quiz
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PSA Function Code - Exercises & Solutions
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Introduction to Parallel Computing - Presentation
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Introduction to Parallel Computing - Quiz
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Parallel Computing Code - Presentation
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Parallel Computing Code - Quiz
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Parallel Computing Code - Exercises & Solutions
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* Optional - High Performance Computing Clusters - Presentation
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* Optional - High Performance Computing Clusters - Quiz
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* Optional - High Performance Computing Demo - Presentation
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*Optional: Simpler PSA Code Walkthrough
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Code Clinic
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What's included
- 9 hours of video content
- Online Coursebook
- Extensive code repository
- 6 x 1 hour live code clinics
Live code clinics
Our live code clinics for this session of the course will be run at the following times. If these times are not convenient drop us an email to schedule a one hour private session instead.
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Thursday 12th, 19th, 26th June; 3rd, 10th , 17th July 2025
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2-3pm London (9-10am New York; 6-7pm Dubai)
Instructors

Robert Smith, PhD
Dark Peak Analytics | University of Sheffield

Wael Mohammed, MSc
Dark Peak Analytics | University of Sheffield
Testimonials
Feedback from previous courses
“This course was the best training I’ve attended. It covered many areas essential to understanding the content, including how to structure your model, vectorization, a variety of needed commands and their efficiency, creating custom functions, combining functions to create a model, plotting data, and so much more.”

“This course was excellent. The content is clear and well-structured, and the pace of teaching is just right, making even complex microsimulation concepts easy to grasp. I especially appreciated the practical exercises, they really helped me connect the dots and feel confident applying what I learned. Overall, it’s a fantastic course that's helped me learn so much, and I'd happily recommend it to anyone.”

“By a long way the best course I’ve ever done. The codebase alone is worth it - every code chunk was thoroughly explained in the textbook, R files, and instructional videos. If you’re looking to learn microsimulation in R, this course is the only one you need.” ”

“The Dark Peak Analytics team is second to none. Very helpful, insightful, and friendly. Would highly recommend to anyone wanting to advance their HEOR skillsets in R. ”

“This microsimulation in R is really well structured and informative course. Especially, they provide you a bunch of codes that you can run on your own program. I definitely recommend this course to those who are interested in applying this knowledge to their study. ”

“The course was great! The slides and explanations were clear. The exercises with solutions were really helpful, and loads of example code were made available. Having access to the recordings and the online book made the whole learning experience easier. ”

“Really accessible, loved the content with practice questions. This made it far less daunting for a complete beginner like myself.”

“Thank you! I really enjoyed the course. I found having the textbook super helpful to read ahead of sessions, and the code clinics were useful to be able to more freely ask questions. The facilitators were so really good and appreciated their responsiveness to questions and comments in the chat. Impressed about live coding skills!”

“The format worked well (mix of taught sessions and code clinics), tutors were all great and very knowledgeable and engaging. Really appreciated being able to get feedback on my code. I've come away feeling a lot more confident, and also of how much left I have to learn.”

“The main tutor Rob was an excellent teacher, very knowledgeable and explains things very clearly at a good pace. The course material and resources were also excellent. As a beginner, I found the approach of teaching base R before learning package functions much easier to grasp. I have been on previous R courses for beginners and left in a state of confusion. ”

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FAQ
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How long will I have access to course materials for?
For 12 months. Some of our materials are also downloadable, so you can still refer to them after that period.
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When are the course materials made available?
Course materials are available immediately.
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What software do I need on my computer?
To run the code provided, we recommend delegates have R Version 4.0.2 (2020-06-22) or newer, and RStudio (https://www.rstudio.com/products/rstudio/download/)
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I want something more bespoke, do you teach other courses?
Yes, we teach bespoke courses on a range of other topics in addition to teaching these topics in live sessions within Industry, Universities and Government.
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Will I get an invoice?
Yes, you'll receive an invoice by email after booking.
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Do you provide discounts for LMIC?
Yes, we offer a discount for those booking from a LMIC. Please use the discount code: lmic50 for a 50% discount on the content only version of the course.
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What kinds of questions can I ask in the code clinic?
Anything you like. We will prioritise questions about the course materials, but feel free to bring any other challenges you are facing (related to R or Health Economics).
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Can I book for a large group? Do you offer discounts for large groups?
It is possible to book for others using a 'gift' purchase. We do offer discounts for large group bookings, please contact us to get a booking link.