---
# System prepended metadata

title: SSI Fellows Community Call - January 2025
tags: [SSIFellowsCommunityCalls]

---

# SSI Fellows Community Call - January 2025

:::info
* Thursday 9th January 2025, 14:00-15:00 GMT (UTC)
* Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85093733935 (no registration required)
* Recording: 
* Previous calls: [https://bit.ly/3eu7NjT](https://bit.ly/3eu7NjT)
* Summary: We will hear Fellows updates from Mike Simpson (2025 Fellow)
:::

[toc]

## Agenda
Times in [GMT] (check your [time zone here](https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=SSI+Fellows+Community+Call+January+2025&iso=20250109T14&p1=%3A&ah=1))

14:00 - 14:05 Welcome
14:05 - 14:25 Fellows' Updates
14:25 - 14:45 Breakout room discussions
14:45 - 15:00 Closing

## Roll call
_Name / Cohort year / Affiliation / Location / Pronouns / Social media_
* Patricia Herterich / 2019 / OLS / Edinburgh, UK / she, her / @pherterich@openbiblio.social
* Yo / 2018 / [OLS](https://we-are-ols.org/) / Cambridge UK 
* Niko / 2025 / UCL / London, UK / he, him / @niksirbi
* Robert Chisholm / 2025 / University of Sheffield / Sheffield, UK / @robadob/@_robadob
* Mike Simpson / 2025 / Newcastle University / he/him
* Shoaib Sufi / SSI Staff / University of Manchester
* Olexandr Konovalov / 2014 / University of St Andrews / St Andrews, Scotland, UK / he,him / [website](https://olexandr-konovalov.github.io/)
* Ella Kaye / 2025 / University of Warwick / she/her / @ellakaye.co.uk (bluesky), @ellakaye@fosstodon.org (mastodon), @EllaKaye (GitHub), https://ellakaye.co.uk
* Jez Cope / 2020 / The British Library / North Yorkshire, UK :snow_c: / he/him / [blog](https://erambler.co.uk); [@petrichor@digipres.club](https://digipres.club/@petrichor)
* Samantha Wittke / 2025 / CSC-IT Center for Science, FI / Lohja, FI / she/her / @samantha@fosstodon.org
* Catherine Inglis / SSI staff at EPCC, University of Edinburgh / Edinburgh, UK / she/her
* Iain Barrass / 2021 / University of Glasgow / Glasgow / He, him /
* Nicky Nicolson / 2025 / Kew Gardens / they/them / https://github.com/nickynicolson
* Saskia Lawson-Tovey / 2025 / University of Manchester / she/her


### 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?_
* Patricia: worked on what should be a no work day but only nice stuff :wink: (yy: phew) - getting distracted by scary house buying plans
* Yo: Mmmm, I'm good! I took a mid-morning cycle ride, I've had lunch, and today I get to meet NEW FELLOWS!!!! 
* Olexandr: 
* Robert C: Good, I've been chasing ghosts, non-determinism (in a model I'm validating against).
* Samantha: tired after full day of meetings, working on setting up a new ambassador programm for Scientific Computing in Finland
* Niko: doing quite well, it's a quiet WFH sort of day, Trying to get some writing done.
* Catherine: busy with helpdesk and meetings constantly since returning from holidays, but off for a swim later so that should help me get some headspace back!
* Iain: Trying to persuade the squirrel to stop banging my window.
    * YY: Put nuts out.... somwwhere else? 
* Ella Kaye: Feeling good - happy to be back in the swing of work after a long (and lovely) holiday.
* Jez: 
* Rosa: doing a few small tasks until I get back to speed.


## 1. Welcome - 5 min [14:00-14:05]

### General Guidance

* 🤝 Please follow the [Code of Conduct](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eQu4EKHKbL-EMCwbwy7F_YGCOFhBcpBbwsET7QAvA1U/edit?usp=sharing), report any issues to [Oscar](mailto:oscar.seip@manchester.ac.uk) and / or [Catherine](mailto:c.inglis@epcc.ed.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 the SSI Community team 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. Mental health
2. New year resolutions (work ones/personal development)
3. Reflecting on fellowship "successes"/"failures" (mainly earlier cohorts, may be good perspective for 2024 & '25 fellows)

## 2. SSI and Fellows' updates - 10 min [14:05-14:15]
_This is an opportunity for Fellows to share/show and tell during our community calls. During this call, we will hear from 1 member of the SSI team and 1 Fellow, 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) 

### Speaker 1: Mike Simpson - 7 min + 3 min Q&A
* Useful links:
    * 
* Notes:
    * 
* Questions:
    * Patricia: What in terms of help are you looking for explicitely?
        * Mike: mainly ideas for blog posts, but suggestions for content we can include on the website or activities we can run relating to mental health.
    * YY: This is a nice article on mental health support in academia: https://elifesciences.org/articles/64739 (disclaimer, I'm a minor co-author as I helped with the code for data analysis)

### Speaker 2 - 7 min + 3 min Q&A
* Useful links:
    * 
* Notes:
    * 
* Questions:
    * 
## 3. Breakout room discussions - 30 min [14:15-14:45]
_Please take notes of your discussion while you are in your breakout rooms in the relevant section below for others to catch up with._

### Main room: hangout
* Participants:
    *  
    * 
* Notes: 
    * https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/101162068-right-kind-of-wrong 
    * 

### Breakout Room 1: 
* Participants:
    * Mike
* Notes: 
    * 

### Breakout Room 2: New Year Resolutions (work/personal development)
* Participants:
    * Rosa, Niko, Shoaib, Patricia, Samantha
* Notes:
    * British passport, Driving
    * Python, Rust, R -- social re-enforcement might work - in terms of sticking to a commitment - e.g. an instrument - doing this alone is hard to stick - hire a teacher - accountable 
    * £50 per week for a personal trainer!
    * End of year - see what I have done - then feel happier 
    * Concrete small achievable goals
    * A spreadsheet with these listed - and a date - shared with people - accountable - other SSI Fellows
    * Blog more - came out of a Community Call
    * Team up to do things - either for embaressment, more fun or accountable
        * Your goal made public can help others (e.g. good driving instructors)
    * Motivations / reasons can change our goals (e.g. change of job and location)
    * The roundabout rule in the UK
    * You want to do x but you think you should do y but then you do neither
    * ADHD blog advice - (useful even if you don't suffer from that) - don't block specific time and tasks - just have a bag of tasks - any moment - how do I feel right now - based on state - choose an appropriate task.

### Breakout Room 3: 
* Participants:
    * Robert Chisholm
    * Milena Dobreva
    * Jez Cope
    * Olexandr Konovalov
    * Catherine Inglis
    * Saskia Lawson-Tovey
* Notes:
    * 


## 4. Closing - 10 min [14:50-15:00]

### Next call: TBC
* We aim to schedule the next Fellows Community Call in early February. Keep an eye on your email / Slack for a poll to find a date.
* Sign-up/register your interest to speak on a future call: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1slQ09G31ikM44x1RPjZyufwUpY8J98V5GB_qkO-_f-c/edit 

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

* 
* 
* 

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

*Note that there is now a recently launched channel in the Fellows slack workspace called #collaboration (another is #peer-review). This is a place to ‘find your people’ and support each other, so please join the channels, and make the most of it!*

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

### Feedback

* What did you enjoy about this call? What worked well?
    * It was nice to have a generic "hang" space for the breakout rooms - I was too lazy to properly engage my brain. 
    * 
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* 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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