Spotlight on Research Software Engineers

TheRSEAA2023 unconference in action. Clockwise from top left: Aleem Uddin (ARDC), Saranjeet Kaur (RSEAA2023 Organising Committee), Johan Gustafsson, Steven Manos.

The Research Software Engineer Asia Australia (RSEAA) unconference and the New Zealand Research Software Engineering conference have just wrapped up their back-to-back programs for 2023. Australian BioCommons supported these important events, and thought you might like to know more - particularly if you’ve not heard of a Research Software Engineer (RSE) or an unconference before!

Australian BioCommons was proud to be a key partner of the RSEAA2023 unconference, particularly with this year’s theme ‘Silos to Synergy - Achieving collaboration across domains’. Dr Steven Manos, Associate Director of Cyberinfrastructure at BioCommons said:

“We were able to have thoughtful and creative discussions with people representing different disciplines from around the Asia Pacific region. It was great to hear voices we might not come across at more traditional conferences.”

Australian BioCommons also coordinated a Birds of a Feather (BoF) session at the NZ Research Software Engineering Conference. Dr Johan Gustafsson, Bioinformatics Engagement Officer at BioCommons, led the discussion on development of the AU-NZ bioinformatics software accelerator, a collaborative effort between Australian BioCommons (through ABLeS), Pawsey Supercomputing Centre, New Zealand eScience Infrastructure and the National Computational Infrastructure Australia. Johan said:

“The BoF attendees were excited by the software accelerator concept, particularly for potential support in migrating their code to high performance computers, and sharing knowledge with other Research Software Engineers (RSEs) undertaking similar work. We’ll help RSEs make the most of their allocations in a high performance, but low pressure environment. Stay tuned for more on the software accelerator in early 2024!”

What is a Research Software Engineer?

Research Software Engineers (RSEs) are people who combine professional software expertise with an understanding of research. The RSE Association of Australia and New Zealand define RSEs as researchers/academics who code, generalists who bring communities together across the research and technical domains, systems administrators who maintain research systems, and software engineers who work in the research space. RSEs are critical team members that are often challenged in terms of unclear career progression, difficulty meeting typical academic metrics and a lack of recognition for their contribution to research progress.

What is an unconference?

Unlike a typical academic conference, an unconference crowd sources the abstract selection process. All delegates can suggest topics for discussion, everyone can vote, and the most popular topics are discussed. This democratic approach provides an opportunity for diverse voices to be heard, particularly those often left out in the regular conference selection process. You can read more about the unconference philosophy on Wikipedia.

How does an unconference support diversity and inclusion?

The lack of a formal program during the unconference lowers the barrier to participation and provides an opportunity for everyone to speak. Delegates can advocate for their interests by suggesting and voting for topics, and a focus on networking and career progression helps to build a welcoming and supportive community. You can read more about making an inclusive unconference in this Times Higher Education article.

The virtual delivery of RSEAA2023, with minimal frills to keep costs down, removed the requirement to travel, reduced registration fees, and made live captioning possible. RSEAA2023 also offered scholarships covering the registration costs, plus accessibility microgrants that could be accessed to cover smaller costs of attending, eg. childcare for the day or a pair of headphones to listen in virtually.

Want to know more?

Patrick Capon2023, Engagement