April 2012

  In this issue:

  • National Forum for Australian eResearch service providers
  • ANDS Webinar series
  • ANDS/NeCTAR Developer Days
  • NZ eResearch Symposium 2012 – Victoria University, Wellington
  • VeRSI Latest Newsletter
  • NeSI research newsletter
  • eResearch Australasia 2012
  • About this newsletter

National Forum for Australian eResearch service providers

A forum of Australasian eResearch providers has been held in Sydney aimed at developing a collaborative program to strengthen eResearch and address issues facing the sector nationally.

Significant national interest was demonstrated when representatives of approximately 60 organisations met to consider a framework for improved co-operation and to prioritise a work program. Those in attendance included NCRIS and EIF Super Science funded organisations, state-based eResearch service providers, University eResearch Directors, representatives of CAUL and CAUDIT, and Federal science agencies.

The seven state-based eResearch service providers, who have been working in close collaboration for some time, organised the forum to engage more broadly with other organisations with an interest in providing eResearch services to university researchers. The group of seven has recently signed an MOU agreeing to cooperate on a number of aspects around the provision of eResearch services nationally.

Among other topics the informal forum discussed strategies for improving adoption of eResearch platforms and services. The forum identified a number of key areas on which to concentrate immediate efforts, including skills development and sustainable business models.

Slides from the forum are now available at http://www.intersect.org.au/reports If you are interested in participating then you can contact the group via aero@intersect.org.au

ANDS Webinar series

ANDS is hosting free webinar series, on Licensing and Data management, which allows people working in research data management to engage with their community without having to leave their office.

The Licensing Webinar Series is in a Q&A style, where participants can engage in discussion about data licensing with Baden Appleyard of AusGOAL.  This series will run on Thursday, 24 May, 26 July, 27 September between 1-2pm (AEST).

The Data Management Series features themed webinars addressing different aspects of data management. The series debuted with a webinar featuring the Digital Curation Centre UK. The next webinar will feature Julia Gross and Constance Wiebrands, Edith Cowan University, discussing the outcomes of their ANDS Project “Seeding the Commons Data Management Plan and Policy” on Friday, 27 April between 1-2pm AEST.

Places are limited, so register early to avoid disappointment. More information about this and other ANDS events can be located here: http://ands.org.au/events

ANDS/NeCTAR Developer Days

NeCTAR and ANDS joined forces in March to run hands-on developer days for technically proficient researchers, systems analysts and developers. The events were designed to develop their skill set through demonstrating how to build appropriate software services and data tools, and host data in NeCTAR’s new research cloud.

All attendees walked away with a key understanding of not only where to get data for their cloud, but how to launch a tool in the cloud and then put the data into it.

There was great interest and enthusiasm in the event with both days attracting huge crowds—over 100 in Melbourne and 60 in Brisbane. This provided opportunities for the developer community to come together, connect and collaborate.
More workshops are to follow in the coming months. Keep your eye on the events pages of the
NeCTAR and ANDS websites for more information.

NZ eResearch Symposium 2012

http://www.eresearch.org.nz/nz-eresearch-symposium-2012

The 3rd New Zealand eResearch Symposium will be held at Victoria University of Wellington, on Wednesday 4th – Friday 6th July, 2012. Please mark these dates in your calendar and start making arrangements.

Our NZ eResearch Symposium is a broad forum for NZ’s research sector and nascent eResearch community. This is an opportunity to meet leaders of eResearch initiatives within NZ and internationally, and to hear about emerging practice, and to share experiences.

Call for Participation

We now welcome submission of descriptions for presentations, panels, posters, BoFs, workshops and demonstrations. Submissions may address any aspect of eResearch, including the infrastructure, platforms, middleware, services; and use-cases from the sciences, humanities, engineering, social sciences and medical fields.

For further details and details on how to submit visit the symposium website http://www.eresearch.org.nz/nz-eresearch-symposium-2012

VeRSI’s latest eNewsletter is now online

This issue focuses on collaboration, with articles on the importance and potential of research collaboration tools, and the value of collaboration in software development, among others. It also includes news of the launch of the NeCTAR research cloud and the HUNI Virtual Laboratory – a cross-disciplinary online research environment for the humanities.

See: http://versi.edu.au/news-and-publications/enewsletter/enewsletter-18

NeSI research newsletter

NeSI, a New Zealand eScience Infrastructure initiative funded by the New Zealand government, is a science and technology grid that connects universities and organisations. NeSI’s goal is to make scientific research faster and more collaborative while providing science researchers with greater computational power and data storage capacity.

The benefits for researchers include reduced costs for accessing HPC resources, a common services layer, as well as a scalable HPC resource that’s available to multiple researchers simultaneously. Videoconferencing and secure storage space allow research groups to modify their legacy practices and share their results.

Those eligible to access NeSI HPC facilities include researchers receiving New Zealand peer-reviewed research grants and New Zealand public sector education institutions. Companies seeking independent access to NeSI facilities may also apply under NeSI’s Private Industry allocation class.

Applications for access can be made on the NeSI website, which also contains details of the HPC facilities available: www.nesi.org.nz.

eResearch Australasia 2012

https://conference.eresearch.edu.au/

The eResearch Australasia Conference 2012 will be held on 28 October to 1 November 2012 at the SMC Conference and Function Centre, Sydney.

The conference theme is emPower eResearch. Featured speakers Professor Anne Trefethen, Director Oxford eResearch Centre and Rudolf Dimper, Head of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) Computing Services Division (CSD) will be presenting at the conference. Other international experts have been invited and will be published once they are confirmed.

Further information about the call for presentations, workshops and BoFs will be published shortly.

Queries: conference@eresearch.edu.au

I look forward to seeing you at the conference!

Viviani Paz, eResearch Australasia Programme Director

About this newsletter

The eResearch newsletter is normally published the first business day of each month, and submissions are due two business days prior to that. Please send items to newsletter@eresearch.edu.au. Each item should be no more than 150 words plain text, plus a link to further information.

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