The Software Sustainability Institute is pleased to announce that eight SSI Fellows and three SSI Staff members have been awarded funding for seven projects through the DisCouRSE - Developing a Community of Leaders Flexible Fund, highlighting the Institute's continued leadership in developing digital research technical professionals. The DisCouRSE programme supports community-led projects that enhance skills and career opportunities for digital research technical professionals (dRTPs) across the UK research landscape. The SSI community's strong presence among funded projects reflects the Institute's ongoing commitment to building sustainable research software careers and capabilities. | |
SSI Fellows leading funded projects: | |
| Samantha Ahern (2026 Fellow, UCL) | Recognising and rewarding training activity in dRTP roles and departments Co-led by 2026 Fellow Sara Villa (OLS) and SSI Staff Aleksandra Nenadic (University of Manchester) |
| Adrian D'Alessandro (2026 Fellow, Imperial College London) | DIRECT Framework Development |
| Carlos Cámara-Menoyo (2026 Fellow, University of Warwick) | Mapping and evaluating dRTP's contributions to computing skills pedagogies in HE |
| William Haese-Hill (2026 Fellow, University of Glasgow) | Developing dRTP Leaders with Melodramatick: Audience Engagement Pilots with Cultural-Sector Partners |
| Saskia Lawson-Tovey (2025 Fellow, University of Manchester/ELIXIR-UK) | Co-led by 2026 Fellow Sara Villa (OLS) |
SSI Staff members leading funded projects: | |
| Lyndsey Ballantyne (University of Southampton) | Discovering hidden community leaders Co-led by 2026 SSI Fellow Cassandra Gould van Praag and 2021 Fellow Emma Karoune |
| Oscar Seip (University of Manchester) | Cohort-Based Open Leadership Training and Mentoring Co-led by 2026 SSI Fellow Sara Villa (OLS) |
These projects reflect the broad range of activities needed to better support digital research technical professionals, ranging from formal recognition and career progression to peer mentoring and public engagement. It's really great to see so many of our Fellows and Staff working on these projects, and we're looking forward to the insights and impact that they will deliver.
The full list of funded projects and further details can be found on the DisCouRSE projects page.
For more information about the SSI Fellowship Programme, please visit the Fellowship page.