How did you hear about Manchester Research Software Community (MRSC)?
I was already a member of the Computation and Data in Research (CaDiR) Teams space when MRSC was launched. I think I found CaDiR through searching for groups relevant to my interests when I first started at the University, I forget how, now, but probably trying to find anything relevant to my interests on StaffNet!
What is your role at the University and how does it interact with the user group?
My role does not directly interact with the MRSC but I, broadly, work in data engineering, standards and infrastructure at the Henry Royce Institute (Royce). Royce is a distributed institute across 11 partner institutions with a Hub and spoke model, I am based at the University of Manchester and the Royce Hub, which is located at the Royce Hub Building (not confusing at all!).
I joined MRSC as an organiser because I enjoy learning new things. Of all the times I’ve learnt of new tools, languages, software, frameworks, etc, it was via having a conversation with someone over their interests. I think organising via MRSC can lead to more people interacting, having conversations, building communities, and sub-communities, and feeling supported in their professional roles.
How did you get into your domain?
My domain is quite broad but I have a background in physics and computational and experimental materials science. Before coming to the University of Manchester and after a PhD and a post-doc, I worked as a data scientist in the civil service, which complemented my scientific background in preparing me for my current role.
What does your role in the group involve?
Aman Goel and I are working together on mapping out and organising community events for MRSC, this involves events planning, speaker communication and management, and hosting.
What would you like to see the group doing over the next 12 months?
We are still in the planning stages but we will be continuing with the MRSC meetings. We are super keen to host talks from both internal and external speakers on personal stories in research software, showcase some topics that go beyond what one might perceive as “software-aligned”, and, of course, software! We are also thinking about different meeting formats.
What do you hope to come out the group?
There’s a transformative aspect to communities, people have previously shared how an MRSC meeting might have led them to changing something about how they work, and discover new concepts, tools and methods, that’s fantastic! I hope that this aspect of the group can propagate through the participants, either by sharing what they’ve learnt, setting up their own communities at some point in the future, etc.
How can members of the group support you / get involved?
Come to the meetings, participate, engage with colleagues, submit a talk for the meetings, provide feedback and event ideas, and even ask how you can start organising! All our meetings are hybrid and the interactive elements have always been accessible (saying this personally, as someone who can’t always attend in person). There are dedicated groups across CaDiR but making a post or engaging with a question in the MRSC Teams channel is always a good place to start if you are interested in any elements of MRSC or CaDiR.
What do you enjoy most about the group?
I think the conversational aspect of the community meetings is really adds to the talks. I have had really interesting discussions in MRSC meetings that I would not have been able to have, or even exposed to, if I was not part of the group.
Fun fact about you or the group?
I can’t think of anything but if anyone reading this comes to future MRSC meetings, I’m sure they’ll find out something!