Call for ELIXIR Node Coordinators

This post originally appeared on the Software Carpentry website.

One of the 2015 ELIXIR Pilot Projects focuses on supporting training in collaboration with the Data and Software Carpentry initiatives. The pilot "Working up and building the foundation for Data Carpentry and Software Carpentry within ELIXIR" includes a series of initial events across different ELIXIR Nodes. In order to achieve the goal of running Data and Software Carpentry (DC/SWC) workshops, promoting the DC/SWC teaching model, developing and sharing of the training materials, it would be useful if not essential, that each ELIXIR Node has a DC/SWC Coordinator.

The Coordinator would:

(ideally) be a person who already is familiar with the Software and Data Carpentry initiatives;
help identify institutions within their Node which would like to host workshops;
act as the first point of contact in their respective Node for SWC/DC (coordinating the communication between the organisations within the Node that want to organise workshops, etc.);
act as liaison between the Node and Software Carpentry/Data Carpentry;
help promote and organise SWC/DC workshops within their Node;
help in outreach within their Node: distributing announcements about workshops, hackathons and SWC/DC instructors training.

As the Organisational Membership model for Software Carpentry is now established, the DC/SWC Node Coordinator would support establishing Partnerships and Affiliations within their Node.

To start with, the Coordinators would help with identifying domain experts within the Nodes who would be willing to contribute to the training materials by taking part in the first hackathon: Developing new and improving existing Data Carpentry materials to adjust them for the domain-specific needs.

The hackathon will be hosted by the Finnish Node on 16-17th March 2015, and financial support for the hackathon attendees is available. The hackathon will be then immediately followed by a Data Carpentry workshop for life-science researchers. During the workshop we aim to test the training materials from the hackathon. Both events will be run by two experienced Data Carpentry instructors: François Michonneau (University of Florida) and Aleksandra Pawlik (University of Manchester).

If you are interested in being the Coordinator, please contact Aleksandra Pawlik.