The RSE Community has benefited from the help, support and recognition of a number of organisations.
Software Sustainability Institute
The term “Research Software Engineer” was first coined at a Software Sustainability Institute event in 2012. Since 2013, the Institute has run a campaign to gain recognition and reward for Research Software Engineers, supported the early RSE events, helped form the UK RSE Association and continues to lobby research stakeholders from across the world to support Research Software Engineers.
Working towards Sustainable Software for Science Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE)
WSSSPE is an international community-driven organization that promotes sustainable research software by addressing challenges related to the full lifecyle of research software through shared learning and community action.
The UKRSE Committee were delighted to have the 4th Workshop on Sustainable Software for Science: Practice and Experiences (WSSSPE4), co-located in Manchester with our First RSE Conference in September 2016.
Data Science
In the current Information Age, data has become a commodity that is driving development crucial to future economic success, particularly for service-based economies such as the UK. The potential to transform the economic landscape is tantalising, from providing business with strategic advantage or new services, to revolutionising medical diagnostics, among many other benefits to society that were unthinkable only a decade ago. However this potential cannot be realised unless new methods for handling, analysing, and extracting knowledge from data are made available. This is particularly relevant in the context of Big Data, where scalable techniques and algorithms are vitally important. The emerging field of Data Science usually refers to the interface between Statistics, Mathematics, and Computer Science that is providing the much sought novel techniques and approaches arising from the cross-fertilisation of ideas between these complementary domains. Data Science is rapidly gathering momentum, and suggests promising new research avenues in the near future. In recognition of this momentum, EPSRC have established the Alan Turing Institute to promote advanced research and translational work in the application of data science, acknowledging that this requires leadership both in advanced mathematics and in computing science.
Research Councils
We are looking to work with all Research Councils to see how they could help support RSEs. Currently, we are working closely with the EPSRC who have funded the RSE Network and RSE fellowships along with attending our events. The RSE Network (RSEN) will coordinate across the existing organisations in the RSE community. By increasing the sharing of information and expertise, and focusing effort, the RSEN will maximise the value of the UK’s investment in RSEs. This will allow RSE organisations to achieve their goals more efficiently and, ultimately, advance research by increasing the contribution that RSEs can make.
Software Carpentry
Since 1998, Software Carpentry has been teaching researchers in science, engineering, medicine, and related disciplines the computing skills they need to get more done in less time and with less pain. Our volunteer instructors have run hundreds of events for thousands of scientists in the past two and a half years. All of our lesson materials are freely reusable under the Creative Commons – Attribution license.