---
# System prepended metadata

title: January 2023 SSI Fellows Community Call
tags: [SSIFellowsCommunityCalls]

---

# January 2023 SSI Fellows Community Call

:::info
* Monday, 23 January 2023 from 15:00-16:00 GMT/UTC ([check your time zone here](https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=SSI+Fellows+Community+Call%3A+January+2023&iso=20230123T15&p1=302&ah=1))
* Recordings: 
  * Meag Doherty: https://youtu.be/0QZDFAJqlBw
  * Daniele Procida: https://youtu.be/awooFs5LRPI
* Previous calls: https://bit.ly/3eu7NjT
* Summary: We heard Fellows’ updates from Meag Doherty and Daniele Procida. In discussion groups, we talked about targeted technical skills development for RSEs and pathways to achieve that, new generation generative Artificial Intelligence, and answered Fellowship questions from members of the 2023 cohort!
:::

[toc]

## Agenda
Times in GMT/UTC ([check your time zone here](https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=SSI+Fellows+Community+Call%3A+January+2023&iso=20230123T15&p1=302&ah=1))

15:00 - 15:05 Welcome
15:05 - 15:25 Fellows’ updates
15:25 - 15:55 Breakout room discussions
15:55 - 16:00 Closing


## Roll call
_Name / Cohort year / Affiliation / Location / Pronouns / Social media_

* Rachael Ainsworth / 2019 / Software Sustainability Institute, University of Manchester / Manchester / she,her / t: [@rachaelevelyn](https://twitter.com/rachaelevelyn)
* Flic Anderson / 2023 / EPCC, University of Edinburgh / Edinburgh, UK / she & her / :bird: [@Flic_Anderson](https://twitter.com/Flic_Anderson)  
* Patricia Herterich / 2019 / OLS and independent consultant / Edinburgh, UK /she, her / @pherterich
* Eli Chadwick / 2021 / The Carpentries / Oxfordshire, UK / he/they / t: [@eelichad](https://twitter.com/eelichad)
* Sarah Gibson / 2020 / 2i2c / London, UK / she/her / gh: @sgibson91
* Matthew Bluteau / 2021 / UKAEA / Oxford, UK / he,him / :elephant: @mattasdata@qoto.org :bird: [@mattasdata](https://twitter.com/mattasdata) :octopus: bielsnohr
* Loïc Lannelongue / 2023 / Uni of Cambridge / Herefordshire / he,him / [@Loic_Lnlg](https://twitter.com/Loic_Lnlg)
* Dave Young / 2023 / Queen's University Belfast / [@thespacedoctor](https://twitter.com/thespacedoctor)
* Hannah Williams / 2021 / UK Health Security Agency / Salisbury, UK / she, her
* Iain Barrass / 2021 / University of Glasgow / Glasgow / he, him /
* Saranjeet Kaur Bhogal / 2023 / RSE Asia Association / India / she, her / GitHub: @SaranjeetKaur
* Gemma Turon /2022 / Ersilia Open Source Initiative / Barcelona, Spain / GitHub: @GemmaTuron
* Stephan Druskat / 2018 / German Aerospace Center (DLR) / Berlin, Germany / :elephant: @sdruskat@scholar.social / GH: @sdruskat / he/him (or they/them)
* Jesper Dramsch / 2022/ ECMWF / Bonn, Germany / they / :elephant:: @jesper@tech.lgbt or dramsch.net/links
* Yo Yehudi / OLS / UK / 
* David Pérez-Suárez / 2016 / UCL / London, UK / He, him / 🐙🐱@dpshelio ~~🐦@dvdgc13~~ 🐘@dvdgc13@octodon.social /
* Melissa Black / 2023 / MetaDocencia / Brazil / she/her / t: @melissablck



### Check-in
_Include your name and answer any of the following prompts: How are you today? What are you working on? Where do you need support?_

* [name=Patricia] Trying to create a MoU template and realizing that there's only so much you can reasonably standardize without any context :weary: 
    - [name=Yo] I have a sub to https://simply-docs.co.uk/ if you want anything? 
* [name=Flic] I'm fairly good, though bemused by the fact it's somehow Monday again? My first SSI Community call, so I'm curious how they roll! Today is a bits and pieces day for me before helpering a carpentries-style workshop about Nextflow for the next few days. :crossed_fingers: against zoom fatigue...
* [name=Sarah] Trying to come to grasps with strategic role is really really really really really really really challenging. Also lots of change in other areas too. It's a wild ride.
* [name=Gemma] Trying ot finalise a GitHub actions workflow for new contributors to our software, a hub of easy-to-use ML models for drug discovery scientists. Getting stuck as is the first time working on Git Actions :face_palm: 
* [name=Stephan] Today I'm good because I got some stuff done :sweat_smile:. Finishing papers, trying to work on my thesis, updating my GitHub Action (:wave: @Gemma) that downloads Citation File Format files from GitHub. (now over 15,000 files on GitHub :tada:)
* [name=Saranjeet] I submitted an application today which I was hoping to complete and submit last week. So I am happy about that. This is my first SSI Community Call as a 2023 fellow so curious to see how they are conducted! :eyes: 
* [name=Yo] Some days I feel like I can't be bothered with social media anymore? 
  * [name=Jesper] Relatable... especiaLly when looking at the mess that is twitter and how much time I put into that platform. Not exactly sure what I'm doing some of these things...
* [name=Jesper] I am on the train to Luxembourg right now, about to film a segment for a MOOC my work is holding on ML in weather & climate. Been fairly burnt out because of it, but I feel like things are looking up. Just wrote a massive juPyter notebooketer it feels good getting some things done. Been thinking of creating a community in light of the recent boom of generative AI to have a little niche where not everyone is yelling all the time. 🤔



## 1. Welcome - 5 min [15:00 - 15:05]

### General Guidance

* 🤝 Please follow the [Code of Conduct](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eQu4EKHKbL-EMCwbwy7F_YGCOFhBcpBbwsET7QAvA1U/edit?usp=sharing), report any issues to [Rachael](mailto:r.ainsworth@software.ac.uk) or [Shoaib](mailto:shoaib.sufi@software.ac.uk).
* 📹 The Fellows updates are being recorded and the videos will be made available on the [SSI YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/user/SoftwareSaved) after the call. 
* 📝 This document is for SSI Fellows only, so please do not share the link publicly. Feel free to take notes, ask questions, add friendly comments, +1, etc. 
    * Outputs such as blog posts or guides may result from the discussions and shared insights. We will not share any personal information, but if you would like to be contacted and included as a contributing author on any outputs, please include your full name as part of any shared insights.


### Goals of these Community Calls
* Facilitate community building and encourage collaboration within the SSI Fellows community.
* Check in with the Fellows and community care - What are the Fellows up to? How can we support them?
* Provide a welcoming and inclusive space for Fellows to share and explore topics of interest and network with others.

### Breakout room discussion topics 
Feel free to add your own and include your name:
1. SWOT analysis of new generation generative AI (e.g. GPT-3) (Kim Martin)
2. Targeted technical skills development for RSEs and pathways to achieve that (Matthew Bluteau)
3. 
4. 


## 2. Fellows’ updates - 20 min [15:05 - 15:25]
_This is an opportunity for Fellows to share/show and tell during our community calls. During each call, we can accommodate 2 Fellows who will each have 7 min (+ 3 min Q&A) to introduce themselves and share any updates to the network, such as:_
* _Your Fellowship plans, demos of projects, upcoming events or other activities_
* _Projects for which you are seeking support or collaboration_
* _Life after the Fellowship and how the Fellowship impacted your career_

Timer for speakers: [https://cuckoo.team/ssi-fellows-community-call](https://cuckoo.team/ssi-fellows-community-call) 


### Daniele Procida (2021) - 7 min + 3 min Q&A
* Useful links:
    * [slides](https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Dqx5qlgyURk80cInvXDqwGg9mTju0CmyM1sAQz9vSsI/edit?usp=sharing)
    * [Diátaxis documentation framework](https://diataxis.fr)
    * [Previous documentation workshop series for researchers](https://docs.google.com/document/u/2/d/e/2PACX-1vQEZf-uZkDc1dOAWEUMWN1TaWBIQdED1bCcYGrOL4RP1HTw_juX7DgcG63LGRx3aSkTAtBmKtGRCc_r/pub)
    * Forthcoming workshop to introduce documentation practices and principles at [PyCon Namibia 2023](https://na.pycon.org/). PyCon Namibia has a high proportion of attendees from research and data science rather than software engineering backgrounds. In previous years they have included individuals working in government departments or agencies, or other public bodies, with functions related to the development or implementation of government policy. These programmers are often new to programming, and exploring software as an alternative to working with spreadsheets. Typically, they have very naive approaches to software - they are often unfamiliar with good management practices for code and data, and have only very vague ideas of why or how documentation might be relevant to their work.
    * Proposed documentation workshop for [FAIRmat](https://www.fairmat-nfdi.eu/fairmat/about-fairmat/consortium-fairmat) ("building a FAIR data infrastructure for condensed-matter physics and the chemical physics of solids") at [Humboldt University, Berlin](https://www.hu-berlin.de/en)
    * Seeking opportunities for in-person 2023 workshops in the UK at academic institutions
* Notes:
    * Mission to set the standards of software documentation for the entire industry
    * Principles of skill applied to documentation (and the framework of Diataxis) can be expanded to any skill-based area
    * Online workshops were are challenge
        * but attendees did get value, and @daniele learnt some things about his own delivery
        * some questions about whether workshops can really fix what seems like a systemic issue of researchers not thinking about documentation
        * what do we think about the prospect of solving the documentation problem in research?
* Questions:
    * What actions are you taking to prevent Covid spread during in-person workshops?
        * PyCon NA, for example https://na.pycon.org/health-and-safety/


### Meag Doherty (2022) - 7 min + 3 min Q&A
* Useful links:
    * Slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1su5NBjEQIgQ4TTAEpsuzjV3ACe0NfInU0uP7jivkihw/edit?usp=sharing
    * Survey, Usability and Design in Scientific Open Source Software Projects: https://tools.simplysecure.org/survey/index.php?r=survey/index&sid=117891&newtest=Y&lang=en
* Notes:
    * UX design in medical research space
    * Are there research software _designers_ out there?
    * goal: bridge US-UK relations in research software/design
    * programme at NIH in US is group of 26 designers working to build infrastructure around research software design
    * problems of getting UI/UX considered in research software and by RSEs
* Questions:
    * Does there need to be a new role: Research Software Designer? (in response to: this is yet another thing )
* mini-workshop ideas: 
   * absolute-minimum usability wins for RSEs?



## 3. Breakout room discussions - 30 min [15:25 - 15:55]
_Please take notes of your discussion while you are in your breakout rooms in the relevant section below for others to catch up with._

### Breakout Room 1: SWOT analysis of new generation generative AI (e.g. GPT-3)
* Participants:
    * [name=Jesper] with tech problems
    * 
    * 
    * 
* Notes:
    * 
    * 
    * 
    * 

### Breakout Room 2: RSE Skills Development
* Participants:
    * Matthew Bluteau
    * Stephan Druskat
    * Gemma Turon  
    * Flic Anderson
    * Meag Doherty 
    * Daniele Procida
* Notes:
    * Heidi Seibold is looking to try to create a Research Software Academy
    * SD: [https://coderefinery.org/](https://coderefinery.org/) is another effort to go beyond the Carpentries, or rather, pick up where they're leaving off...
    * ML for picking courses: [https://useful.mba/about/](https://useful.mba/about/)
    * Nice idea: get some mentorships with industry
        * Industry isn't asked about this a lot, accelerators may help creating first links between academia and industry
        * Can this be facilitated through RSE associations?
        * The trad. academia-industry of collaboration of "we send someone to give a (high level) talk" may not help the target group getting started, mentorships would be better suited



## 4. Closing - 5 min [15:55 - 16:00]

### Next call: `call date`
* Doodle poll to determine time: https://doodle.com/meeting/participate/id/dJ8E0YKa
* Sign-up/register your interest to speak on a future call: https://forms.gle/4YpTTAFUNuA2XyZEA

### Upcoming events / calls
_Event name / date, time & venue / website / description_

* 
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### Requests for peer assists, collaboration and/or support

* 
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### Other updates, shares and shout-outs
_Please feel free to add any updates or thank-yous that you wish to share with the community._

* Suggestion about alternative report-backs to go on the Code-for-Thought podcast instead of blog posts
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 


### Feedback

* What did you enjoy about this call? What worked well?
    * Great ad-hoc discussion in the breakout room about skilling up RSEs
    * Space to have a social natter which isn't often allowed for in work meetings
    * Supportive interactions
    * 
    * 
* What could be improved? What did not work well?
    * 
    * 
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    * 
    * 
* What topics would you like to explore on future calls?
    * 
    * 
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    * 