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We need to recognise the people behind research software

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We need to recognise the people behind research software

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Simon Hettrick

Simon Hettrick

Deputy Director

Posted on 5 August 2013

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We need to recognise the people behind research software

Posted by s.hettrick on 5 August 2013 - 1:56pm

FortuneCookieComputer.jpgBy Simon Hettrick.

Research software engineers are the people behind research software. They not only develop the software, they also understand the research that it makes possible.

Software is a fundamental part of research, and research software engineers are fundamental to good software. Despite this, the role is not well understood in the research community. This is something the Software Sustainability Institute is campaigning to change - starting with a workshop for research software engineers.

We will bring research software engineers together to talk about new tools and interesting work, to share ideas with people who do the same work, and to discuss how we can overcome the problems that are faced by all research software engineers - like gaining recognition and reward for their work.

The term research software engineer is new, so many people who fulfil the role will not describe themselves in this way. To help judge whether you should attend the workshop, we've put together some questions:

  • Are you employed to develop software for researchers?
  • Are you a researcher who now spends more time developing software than conducting research?
  • Are you employed as a postdoctoral researcher, even though you predominantly work on software development?
  • Are you the "person who does computers" in your research group?
  • Are you not named on research papers despite playing a fundamental part in developing the software used to create that research?
  • Do you lack the metrics needed to progress your career in research - like papers and conference presentations - despite having made a significant contribution with software?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, you should attend the workshop for research software engineers.

More information and registration

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