Trainee Pre-work

What to send attendees before training day

TRAINER ONLY

Attendees do not build or fork the training website. They read modules, setup guides, and exercises on the hosted site. They fork the GitHub repo only for lab code (Codespaces, dbt, notebooks).

Trainee-facing steps live on Prerequisites. This page is your comms runbook: URLs, timing, and what to verify before the room opens.

URLs to send

What URL
Training site (primary) https://mhp-data-engineer-2026.pages.dev/
Prerequisites (send this link) https://mhp-data-engineer-2026.pages.dev/setup/prerequisites.html
Snowflake setup https://mhp-data-engineer-2026.pages.dev/setup/snowflake-setup.html
Databricks setup https://mhp-data-engineer-2026.pages.dev/setup/databricks-setup.html
dbt setup https://mhp-data-engineer-2026.pages.dev/setup/dbt-setup.html
Code repo to fork https://github.com/jinjuewei/MHPDataEngineerWorkshop
Mirror (optional) https://site-lemon-zeta.vercel.app/

Also send the site access token (WORKSHOP_TOKEN) out of band — same value as on Cloudflare Pages. Trainees enter it once when the login gate appears.

Portal link (per cohort): manage roster in Trainee management → Copy portal link → …/trainee-portal.html?cohort=YYYYMMDD-slug. Trainees use My Workshop to copy ATTENDEE_ID and secrets.

When to send what

When Send Purpose
1–2 weeks before Site URL + token + Prerequisites link + fork/Codespace instructions Databricks invite can go in the same email
Day before Short reminder + day-of checklist below Catch stragglers on Snowflake trial and .env
Module 1 (morning) ATTENDEE_ID on card or slide They paste into .env
Module 2 Databricks workspace URL (if not already in invite) · ADLS2 storage key (verbal/printed) Notebook 00_setup.py
Module 3 SAS token (printed card) Snowflake external stage
Module 8 Aiven URI + certs Streaming optional

Full credential timing: Pre-class checklist § Credential distribution.

What trainees should finish before training day

Use this as your pre-class expectation and as the body of your attendee emails.

Must complete before the workshop starts

# Task Where documented
1 Open the training site (trainer URL + access token) and bookmark Prerequisites Prerequisites § Step 1
2 Fork MHPDataEngineerWorkshop on GitHub — labs only, not for reading modules Prerequisites § Step 2
3 Create a Codespace from the fork and confirm the terminal opens Prerequisites § Step 3
4 Snowflake 30-day trial — cloud Azure, region West Europe Prerequisites § Snowflake
5 Accept Databricks invite and confirm login (email sent 1–2 weeks before) Prerequisites § Databricks
6 In the Codespace: cp .env.template .env and fill Snowflake account / user / password Prerequisites § Configure Credentials
7 Run bash .devcontainer/setup-environment.sh or restart the Codespace after editing .env Same section
8 dbt --version shows 1.8+; dbt debug --target snowflake passes (Snowflake vars only is OK pre-class) Prerequisites § Day-of checklist

Trainer provides during class (not pre-work)

Item When
ATTENDEE_ID Module 1 — then attendee updates .env
Databricks PAT + HTTP path (if not done yet) Module 2 / 4
ADLS2 storage account key Module 2
SAS token Module 3
Aiven credentials Module 8

Optional (not required for main day)

Task Notes
Power BI Desktop (Windows) Self-paced after Module 4 — Power BI setup
Local clone instead of Codespaces Supported; see Prerequisites

Trainer verification (day before or morning)

Walk through this before you send the day-before reminder — or spot-check one volunteer machine:

Checklist items also on Day before and Materials § Attendee comms.

Email templates

Note

Replace {DATE}, {TOKEN}, and trainer contact details. Do not put ADLS2 keys or SAS tokens in email — distribute per credential schedule.

1–2 weeks before

Subject: MHP Data Engineer Masterclass — setup before {DATE}

Hi everyone,

Please complete setup before we meet on {DATE} (about 30–45 minutes).

1) Training website (modules, exercises, setup guides)
   https://mhp-data-engineer-2026.pages.dev/
   Access token: {TOKEN}
   Start here: https://mhp-data-engineer-2026.pages.dev/setup/prerequisites.html

   You do not need to build the website from GitHub — use this URL only.

2) Lab environment (GitHub Codespaces)
   Fork: https://github.com/jinjuewei/MHPDataEngineerWorkshop
   Then: Code → Codespaces → Create codespace on main

3) Snowflake trial (your own account)
   https://signup.snowflake.com/ — choose Azure, West Europe

4) Credentials file in your Codespace
   cp .env.template .env
   Fill in your Snowflake login (steps on the Prerequisites page).
   We will give you your ATTENDEE_ID on the training day.

Databricks: watch for a workspace invite email from us.

Questions? Reply to this thread.

{Trainer names}

Day before

Subject: Reminder — workshop tomorrow ({DATE})

Tomorrow we start at {TIME}.

Before you arrive, please confirm:
☐ Training site opens (https://mhp-data-engineer-2026.pages.dev/) with token {TOKEN}
☐ Codespace opens from your fork
☐ Snowflake trial login works
☐ .env created in Codespace (cp .env.template .env) with your Snowflake credentials
☐ dbt debug --target snowflake passes

Full checklist: https://mhp-data-engineer-2026.pages.dev/setup/prerequisites.html#day-of-checklist

We will assign your ATTENDEE_ID at the start of the day.

See you tomorrow,
{Trainer names}