The N8 Centre of Excellence in Computationally Intensive Research (N8 CIR) and the Software Sustainability Institute (SSI) have entered into a partnership to support and promote their shared aims around training, workforce development, and equality, diversity and inclusion.
In the coming months, the two organisations will collaborate on a number of strategic initiatives to help create a network of SSI Fellows based at N8 institutions. This will include working with existing SSI Fellows and helping to identify and encourage candidates within the N8 to apply in the future.
Training is another area where the two organisations will be working closely together, as they share resources and opportunities. There will be a focus on emerging techniques in Machine Learning, as well as a concerted effort to support non-traditional users of computational techniques such as researchers in the humanities.
SSI Director, Neil Chue Hong said, “the SSI is always looking for ways to work with other groups and organisations that share our vision. N8 CIR has a fantastic reputation for providing training, support and leadership in high-performance computing and research software engineering.”
“There are already several SSI fellows based at N8 Universities, so this partnership is a natural progression that will benefit everyone.”
N8 CIR recently became a chapter of the Women in HPC movement. As the group seeks to improve access and representation for women and minorities in high-performance computing, it provides a further intersection of the goals of both organisations.
N8 CIR’s Research Software Engineering Theme Leader and WHPC chapter co-Founder Marion Weinzierl said, “The events that have been developed by N8 CIR have been a vital part of growing an RSE community, enabling open communication and facilitating the sharing of new and innovative ideas.”
“Many researchers, RSEs and RIEs across the N8 Research Partnership have contributed to the new WHPC chapter, making it feel like a welcome and inclusive space.”
As the partnership grows it is hoped that the two organisations will find further common ground where collaboration will be beneficial.
Speaking about the new partnership Prof. Matt Probert, N8 CIR’s Director, said “The last couple of years have shown that we have more tools than ever before at our disposal to collaborate and develop new ways of working. This new partnership will definitely add to that.”
“Recognised trailblazers like Emma Barnes and Marion Weinzierl have helped to raise the profile of both N8 CIR and WHPC and we anticipate seeing new leaders emerge in the coming months.”
To find out more about the work of the Software Sustainability Institute, please visit https://software.ac.uk/ or follow them on Twitter @SoftwareSaved. The N8 CIR website can be found at https://n8cir.org.uk and the Twitter handle is @N8CIR
