This is the 2nd of 6 Fellows’ stories sharing how the Fellowship programme has supported both their career and advocacy for good software practices. The stories were developed as part of the Fellows Impact Evaluation. The full report can be found here. Pseudonyms have been used for anonymity.

Theresa: Making the transition into research policy.

“I think I’m probably a pretty good example of [someone who] has hardly done anything [included in my fellowship plans] but has done all the other things with the SSI that no one could have known would be a thing when I put in my application.”

Theresa applied for a SSI Fellowship as it would support her to promote good software practices within her workplace and provide certification of her professional standing from a community she respected. During the Fellowship, she built her professional skills through attending training courses with the stipend removing the need to justify the expense to her manager. She also broadened her experience through SSI-related opportunities, such as Fellows’ selection and the SSI’s Collaborations Workshop organising committee.

Theresa felt a sense of belonging in the SSI and benefitted from the supportive fellows’ network. The Fellowship gave her the freedom and confidence to advocate for good software practices in her institute, including delivering related workshops that were new to her institute. Due to a change in work role during her Fellowship she could not follow her original planned activities. Instead, some alternative opportunities arose through the SSI that allowed her to pursue her interests in research policy.

Her engagement with the SSI was encouraged through having a shared ethos of wanting to influence positive change in the research environment alongside the opportunity to act on this collaboratively. As an SSI Fellow, she felt she was seen as a trusted collaborator which led to opportunities that, along with the support of the fellows’ network, enabled her to move from a traditional university research support role to one that has more autonomy. She now works with organisations that are strongly aligned with the SSI.