Registration is now open for the live sessions of our next Research Software Camp, which takes place from 7 to 18 November 2022 and will focus on supporting mental health in research software.

As part of the Camp we will be running two live sessions – a panel discussion on ‘Managing stress in research software’, and a workshop on 'Befriending your inner critic'. Both sessions are free, online, and open to anyone who is interested in the topic of mental health in research software. 

Panel discussion

The Panel Discussion: Managing stress in research software will take place on Monday 7 November from 1 - 2.30pm GMT.

The panel will be chaired by Dave Horsfall, Research Software Engineer and mental health advocate, and aims to raise awareness of mental health topics in a safe and non-judgemental online environment. Panellists will share their experiences and expertise on managing workload and stress, self-compassion, embracing their inner critic (e.g. dealing with imposter syndrome), context shifting when handling multiple projects, and isolation (hybrid or remote working), and how all of these can impact career development and progression.

Our goal is to present as many views and experiences as we can so that the audience finds this Panel enriching and eye-opening, as well as to provide a starting place for people to explore their own approach to wellbeing and mental health in research software settings, and perhaps initiate conversations with their own colleagues and groups. 

Find out more about our panellists and register here.

Befriending your inner critic workshop

The workshop on Befriending your inner critic will take place on Tuesday 15 November from 1 - 3pm GMT.

This free two-hour session will be an opportunity to take a step back from the pressures of your day. We’ll turn our research curiosity towards our experience of navigating our research and research software work environments.

We’ll discuss how mindfulness can help us to get to know our own inner critic and hear a little about the western psychology perspective. There will be space to try out mindfulness meditations that can calm unhelpful thought patterns and cultivate self-compassion, so that we can let our creativity and confidence benefit our work.

This session has been developed and will be led by Anita Banerji, Research Associate at The Software Sustainability Institute exploring the impact of the SSI’s work and equity, diversity and inclusivity. Anita has lots of experience in writing software from her previous scientific research career and has been practising meditation for nearly 15 years. She is an accredited mindfulness teacher through Breathworks.

Find out more and register here.