Did you know that Research IT provides a wide range of training courses that are free to all researchers and PGRs? Our short, focused training courses can help you with a variety of digital research problems.

Meet Russell Garwood, Senior Lecturer in the Dept. of Earth and Environmental Sciences and one of the academic leads of the University C++ User Group. Discover how he got involved with the group and what it offers the C++ user community at the University.

Many researchers are aware they can include Research Software Engineering support in their grant applications — but perhaps fewer realise that our Research Platforms team can also be included to provide a wide range of services. From bespoke hardware provision to systems management and automation support, the Platforms team has enabled research across diverse areas. That includes collaborations with the National X-ray Computed Tomography Research Facility and, as highlighted here, the High Energy Physics group.

Ever wondered what the difference between an Machine Learning (ML) engineer and an Artificial Intelligence (AI) engineer is?  Research Software Engineer Ettore Murabito helps to explain the differences between the two roles.

Just arrived at the University as a new research student? Need some assistance with research software? Our Application Support team is here to help.

Earlier this month, members of The University of Manchester’s Research Software Engineering (RSE) team joined peers from across the UK and beyond at RSECon25, held at the University of Warwick. The annual conference, now in its ninth year, is the flagship event for the RSE community.

Adrian Harwood, Head of Research Software Engineering, has announced that Chris Fullerton will take on the role of Deputy Head of Research Software Engineering starting in October 2025. Chris will also chair the new RSE Operational Excellence group.

Are you committed to advancing leadership skills and careers within digital Research Technical Professions (dRTP)? Do you have a bold idea or an existing initiative that could make a real difference to your profession? Apply now for up to £10,000 from the DisCouRSE Network+ Flexible Fund!

The DisCouRSE Network + activity are seeking creative, community-led initiatives that encourage and support the development of leaders and managers across the profession.

🗓️ Apply by: Friday 14th November 2025, 16:00 GMT
👉 Everything you need to start your application is now live here, including the submission timeline, eligible project types and costs, and assessment criteria.

In collaboration with Visioning Lab, the Research Software Engineering team has developed Ontology Maker, an AI-powered platform that helps international teams manage key terminology across languages and disciplines. Initially focused on the temporary architecture sector, the tool simplifies the creation of multilingual glossaries to support faster, more effective disaster response.

Looking for an easy way to get starting with online data collection that doesn’t involve copying and pasting? Research Software Engineer Chris Lam has written a simple guide which introduces web scraping with Python.

The recent Collaborations Workshop (CW25), held at the University of Stirling, brought together researchers, developers, and educators for three dynamic days of collaboration, organised by the Software Sustainability Institute. With themes centred on future-proofing research software and fostering diversity, the event featured keynote speeches, panel discussions, lightning talks, a hack-day, and more. Read on for details about this inspiring gathering.

Research IT recently hosted Mike Croucher from MathWorks for a workshop demonstrating how MATLAB can go from sluggish to lightning-fast. Through smart code optimisations and GPU acceleration, Mike took a calculation from 80 days down to just over 4 minutes — showing that MATLAB can be a serious contender in high-performance computing.