Sydney ResBaz - A Big Success

Cross-institutional skill- and community-building event attracts hundreds of researchers

On 3-5 July, Macquarie University hosted the 2018 Sydney Research Bazaar (ResBaz). Macquarie University became a member organisation of The Carpentries, joining in 2016 as the first supporting member organisation in Australia. Associate Professor Shawn Ross, Director of Data Science and eResearch at Macquarie, welcomed attendees to the event.

Shawn Ross

Research Bazaar (ResBaz) is a worldwide festival promoting digital literacy emerging at the centre of modern research. Every year, ResBaz events are held at university campuses across the globe. The aim of these events is to equip researchers from all career stages with digital skills and tools to make their research faster and smarter.

Lots of attendees

A unique blend of academic and social life, ResBaz is an event unlike any academic conference.

ResBazzes were held this year in eight other locations: three in New Zealand (Dunedin, Auckland, and Wellington), three others in Australia (Brisbane, Melbourne, and Perth), as well as Tucson, Arizona in the US and Oslo in Norway.

This year’s Sydney ResBaz included two days of workshops and digital skills sessions. Training in Python Software Carpentry , Data Carpentry with R, SQL and Data Manipulation were offered to participants. It also premiered a Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) Mixed stream.

On learning to code

The third, “festival” day featured social activities, lightning talks, demonstrations, booths and stalls, and sessions on machine learning, LEAN innovation, and a digital humanities THATCamp THATCamp -(The Humanities and Technology Camp) Unconference.

Stalls - and popcorn!

Word about Sydney ResBaz spread quickly soon after registrations opened in late May, with upwards of 600 people registering or waitlisting. From these, over 350 people attended, making it the largest Sydney ResBaz to date with a reach expanding to regional NSW and Canberra.

Sydney ResBaz 2018 was a joint effort of the University of New South Wales, the University of Sydney, the University of Technology Sydney, Western Sydney University, the University of New England, and Macquarie University.

Successful learning

The support of several more universities (including University of Newcastle and the Australian Catholic University) and the participation of partner organisations - Intersect, AARNet, the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, CSIRO, ARDC, PC Lab Archives, Overleaf, Clarivate Analytics, and Microsoft – have allowed Sydney ResBaz to grow in 2018.

Dialogue & Discussion

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