Join Us at CarpentryConnect Manchester 2019!
Did you see the recent announcement that registration and call for proposals are now open for the CarpentryConnect Manchester 2019 conference? This event is an opportunity for members of The Carpentries’ global community of instructors and anyone else with an interest in helping researchers to improve their computational skills, to get together for a few days to exchange ideas and learn some new things. With an exciting programme (still under development, no spoilers!), the sessions will focus on developing new and existing curricula, increasing the sustainability of research software, methods and tools for better teaching, and more. The conference will also have as much to offer those who are newcomers to The Carpentries as it does to those who have attended a workshop, helped or taught at one or two, or been involved for years.
Still not sure what to expect? Following the success of the inaugural CarpentryCon in Dublin last summer, several of the attendees wrote about their experiences describing some of the workshops and breakouts, reflecting on their experiences, and generally celebrating the chance to bring such a diverse and dispersed community together. The organising taskforce of CarpentryConnect Manchester 2019, chaired by Aleks Nenadic from the Software Sustainability Institute and including several organisers of CarpentryCon, has every intention of creating a sister event with a similar atmosphere of creativity, inclusivity and optimism, and a love of using sticky notes for almost everything.
Toby Hodges, front center, in discussion with other community members over tea.
CarpentryCon Dublin 2018 by Bérénice Batut, CC BY-SA 2.0
We have planned the event with bursts of lightning talks and breakout sessions to spark conversation, long breaks to create space for deeper discussion and networking, and an emphasis on workshops and tutorials to gain new skills. The structure of the programme (draft available here) reflects the importance placed on community building and professional development that I have been so inspired by at previous events organised both by the Research Software Engineers Association and The Carpentries. The conference offers a chance to learn about and discuss the latest developments and challenges in computational teaching and research software development, to access training in relevant skills, tools, and resources, and to get to know other members of this warm and welcoming community. For more detail on the programme, keep an eye out as we announce our keynote speakers over the coming weeks or register to receive an email with updates.
We’d love to see plenty of new faces at the conference, as well as bring together as many Instructors, Trainers, Mentors, and Maintainers, as possible from the UK, Europe, and across the world. So, if any of the above sounds interesting to you, we’d love for you to go ahead and register. If you do so before 10 April 2019, you’ll be able to take advantage of the Early Bird discount.
We look forward to seeing you in Manchester in June!