We asked this year's Agents (the precursor to the Fellowship programme) for their thoughts on the Agents network and how it has helped their research.
Kristy Revell
The agent's network has been a great experience for me. Before the network code was something other people did and developers were people our group hired as part of a wider piece of research.
Although I still can't code and I am certainly not a developer, being part of the network and taking part in the Collaborations Workshop has really deepened my understanding of the role of software in research and also the value of developers. It has changed the way I see software completely and also made me a lot less afraid of it. I am now much keener to develop my relationship with software and potentially even move beyond simply being a user.
Simon Choppin
My fellowship with the Software Sustainability Institute has helped me to grow as a researcher. I have been able to attend conferences that would otherwise be out of reach, I have come into contact with work, techniques and fields of study which I would not have considered without the funding that has been provided.
Being able to work across disciplines is something favoured by universities and funding bodies. Software is a large area of common ground for a great number of modern researchers and an effective way of engaging disparate areas of research. The Institute’s Collaborations Workshop put me into contact with the users and architects of software. As well as finding ways in which my work could benefit others outside of my field I have been made aware of the increasing of role of software in research and how to become more effective by using (and writing) it efficiently.
Vanesa Magar
Being an Agent for the Software Sustainability Institute has been a very exciting experience. Firstly, it allowed me to attend conferences which I would not have attended otherwise, forcing me to get out there and start talking more about my work and how better software can improve research productivity. Secondly, meeting the Institute members has been very useful. They are all very supportive and interested in what we do, and understand we may have a different way of communicating our ideas.
I would like to express special thanks for introducing me and my group to the software carpentry workshops and the grid community. This will help us make the most of the University’s e-resources. The Collaborations Workshop was great and paved the way for a collaboration with the Software Sustainability Institute on an EPSRC application. Hopefully there is no looking back now!
Colin Semple
I had a few expectations of becoming a Software Sustainability Institute Agent, I thought it would be useful additional travel money, that it would force me to summarise my impressions/opinions about the conferences I attend, and that it might be a good way to set time aside to think about software itself (rather than the practicalities of using it).
Those expectations have turned out to be pretty much in line with my experience, with a couple of surprises. I was amazed by (but finally converted to) the unconference organisational model used at the 2012 Collaborations Workshop, and struck by the commonalities among software user groups from biologists to physicists and architects.
Aleksandra Pawlik
Becoming one of the Software Sustainability Institute Agents increased my confidence as a researcher. I am a PhD student and I found myself in a group of Agents – all of them very experienced and knowledgeable academics.
Obtaining the funding is a good evidence that I am able to successfully apply for grants, which is a great thing to put on an academic CV nowadays. Also, I could have attended the SciPy conference in the USA without the funding. I got a lot of ideas for my research from SciPy, and my own work received a lot of positive feedback and interest.
Being an Software Sustainability Institute Agent really boosted my PhD!
Heather Packer
Being a member of the Agents network has broadened my expertise in developing software for research. The Collaborations Workshop was an excellent forum for considering software challenges that I would not normally have had a chance to encounter, through discussion with a range of researchers from multiple disciplines. Not only was it informative and useful but it was a lot of fun!
Being a Fellow of the Institute is a great conversation starter at conferences, because everyone has their own opinion and perspective of software development for research. I now find it hard to not question people about how they make their software accessible and sustainable.
Laura Moss
I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of the Agent’s network. Apart from providing a unique opportunity to mix with researchers outwith my own field of research, the scheme has also allowed me to attend and present my work at a number of conferences, which is extremely valuable for early stage researchers.
Additionally, I have benefited from being able to attend the Collaborations Workshop; this provided an excellent opportunity to network with a range of people from both academia and industry and has even led to a possible project involving sonification and artificial intelligence!