Research Platform Services Blog

It is time for us to grow our ResFamily again!  

Do you love science and research? Are you the person your colleagues turn to with their MATLAB questions? Can you explain technology eloquently and kindly to the grumpiest professor? If you answered YES to any/all of the above, then research platform services invites you to apply for the MATLAB research community co-ordinator position!

The successful applicant will grow their respective communities through regular workshops and meetups. Maintaining an online presence is also an essential part of the job.

You would also be expected and supported in organising events within your communities, as well as team specific and Research Platforms-wide events such as Res.Search for Researchers and the famous Research Bazaar conference at the beginning of next year.

Check out our post of this year’s conference here.

Please submit your:

1. cover letter
2. CV / Resume
3. document addressing essential selection criteria (3 pages maximum)

to yamnimohan@gmail.com.Applications close Friday the 8th of September.

Please see the below link for a detailed position description

JUNIOR RESEARCH COMMUNITY CO-ORDINATOR (MATLAB)

by Emilie Walsh

Originally posted by abelmvada

For the next five weeks, I’m going to post a series of blog post on 3D printing in Fine Arts. So keep tuned!

Funnily enough, 3D printing very first historical mention is in fiction and was thus imaging by artists!

How the comics artist #Hergé came up with the idea for #3Dprinting ! #Tintin #comics #3Dprinter pic.twitter.com/o6hOgtsk20

— Emilie Walsh (@emilouwalsh)

3 August 2017

It makes no doubt that 3D printing is a technique that has appealed to creative at a very early stage of its development. An early example of an artist creation using 3D printing technology would be Patrick Jouin, Solid Chair.

It has now been acquired by some major contemporary museum across the world, including the Stedelijk museum in the Netherland and the Centre Pompidou in France.

Following the artist first experimentation, large national museum stated to dedicate exhibition to 3D printing in fine arts. Recently the Centre Pompidou in Paris had an exhibition solely on 3D printing in Fine Arts, Print the world. I tell you more about this show in a couple of weeks!

But what are the impact of this newly developed technology in the Art world?

Last year, I was asked by Master students Yuan, Mengxuan and their team about how are contemporary artists using 3D printing. One very interesting question I was asked was how is 3D printing shifting the Fine Arts practices and especially sculpture. Some very innovative practices with 3D printing involve using it to create forms that couldn’t be created otherwise.

Joshua Harker is an artist how has pushed the technology to a high level of achievement. Have a look at his beautifully intricate sculptures:

Because you can design your model theoretically in a 3D modelling software, it doesn’t need to be made in a way that the human hand could. For example, you can have designed some intricate forms, inside one another, is way no traditional tool could carve, mould or cast. example mask Bjork:

whole without parts : https://t.co/U9ks14c2ir

— björk (@bjork)

30 June 2016

Fashion is also an industry that is looking closely at 3D printing

Another extraordinary piece at @metmuseum’s MANUS X MACHINA. #3DPrinting used to push the boundaries of fashion. pic.twitter.com/wri3FIdip8

— Dejan (@heyDejan)

24 June 2016

Another aspect of 3D printing, that might be interesting some of you, is the capacity of testing out 3D ideas very quickly. This has early appeal to artists, and 3D printing is often uses as a prototyping phase. Some artist use 3D modelling and printing to create a model, and then make a mould and cast it in a more traditional material like bronze. 3D printing is not creating a competition between techniques and media. Artists will keep working with ceramic, marble or bronze. But 3D printing might open up the possibilities. It is just another fantastic opportunity for creative to imagine new forms and communicated their ideas quickly and test them out in a tangible material.

How is the democratisation of fabrication techniques created by 3D printing a challenge for artists and designers?

When photography was invented, some voices were heard saying that it was the death of painting. Almost 200 years after, both media are strong and vibrant in the Fine Arts world.

Walter Benjamin was questioning the impact of photography with it essay “Art at the time of reproducibility”. We could reactivate this question today and ask about sculpture at the time of reproducibility. Interestingly, the reproducibility of 3D printing models is not seen as a threat by artists, but rather use in their practices as a way of questioning our traditional means of production, or ownership issues. Duane Linklater from Canada uses 3D printing in his sculpture, reproducing Native American artefacts:

“ I was interested in unauthored art objects, more specifically, those objects that don’t have an attributed artist to their name. I thought that this is an interesting problem to work with. For me, it’s reflected what happens with Native American objects when they enter into predominately European modern and contemporary museums — that they often lose information when they’ve been acquired. I was looking for a particular way of making these objects, copying these objects as part of creating an analogous object to speak to that loss. As a result, the final sculptures that were presented, of course, are representative of all of this lost information, missed translations. For me, that was a really important project to do”

So there are many ways in which 3D printing could be inspiring for you. If you are interested in learning more for your art practice or your research, be in touch to take part in one of our free workshops. You can learn how to use some easy CAD software such as TinkerCAD. The 3D modelling software Fusion 360 also has a function that allows to free form a model by playing with it like a ball of clay. Yuliang, studying Engineering at Melbourne Uni, uses it for his CAD models:

using free_foaming to improve the capstone project pic.twitter.com/iWZHVs4eG4

— Yuliang Liu (@LiuLiuyl)

4 August 2017

Get in touch with us if you’re interested to learn about those CAD tools!

*credit to Yuan, Mengxuan and their team for the title of this blog post, borrowing the title of their great video on 3D printing in Fine Arts

by Bobby Li

It is once again that time of year where engineering students will be busy working on their design projects, and to support in their efforts to produce the very best we are pleased to announce the return of the CAD QuickStart Program for 2017!

Initiated by Dr. Colin Burvill, the QuickStart program is, what I would describe as, a mild mix of consultation for computer-aided design problems and a little bit teaching for beginner CAD learners. So, whether you are someone that wants to help in doing that little bit extra or simply wants to learn CAD for themselves, there is a something for students at all levels, so please do come along for some good times 😊

The QuickStart program will run for a total of five weeks in semester 2, through week three to eight (except for week four, so don’t show up for that one), with two sessions running per week:

Days: Thursday and Friday (these will be repeat sessions)

Time:  5:15pm – 7:00pm (student mentors will be available until 6:05pm)

Place: Old Engineering Building, EDS-5

Any CAD related questions outside of the sessions can be emailed in to: mcenCAD2017@eng.unimelb.edu.au

Meet Our Mentor Team.

Left to right: Tam Hong, Shyam Shiv Kumar, Ryan Carter, Clark Chen, Matt Viccars, James Gregory, Li Jian, Eleanor Lourey

In the spirit of community building, our mentor team comprises of eight engineering students that either are or was once in the position that you are now, and will have some great first-hand experience to share.

All mentors have completed formal training in computer-aided design (using Inventor specifically). And each session will be run by a pair of our mentors that will take you through a guided learning activity and answer any questions.  

The Teaching Schedule.

While this is in no way a complete course into CAD it is still sufficient for beginner CAD learners to pick-up and even useful to people just wanting to learn a little bit more as we have cherry-picked all the best parts for your everyday engineering needs:

A quick overview of the scheduled lesson plans per week:

Week 3: Parts Modelling

Week 4: (no session this week)

Week 5: Assembly Modelling

Week 6: Motion Simulation & Exploded Presentations

Week 7: Technical Drawings

Week 8: Stress Analysis

Course Materials.

The course materials that we will be going through in the sessions can all be found in the link: https://github.com/resbaz/QuickStart-Program

by Emilie Walsh & Dr Christina Tuke Flanders

Indiana Jones’ granddaughter…

Imagine Indiana Jones getting his hands on a beautiful ancient artefact…

Originally posted by t3chn0ir

How is he going to archive it and study it? It’s too fragile to be handled on an everyday basis, or to travel across the country to be examined by a fellow scholar… So, what would Indie do? Draw a beautiful board of detailed depiction of the artefact!

http://anthropology.si.edu/naa/exhibits/strong/strong4.htm

Next generation Indiana Jones Junior would probably just get his digital camera and take a snap of it!

But what would Indie’s granddaughter would do today? 3D scan it and built a beautiful digital 3D model of it, to share with researchers around the globe!

#3Dscanning taking place @digitalstudioUM ! Percy Grainger wife’s shoe getting digitised! @ResPlat #datstory pic.twitter.com/I4Kjnw654o

— Emilie Walsh (@emilouwalsh)

3 July 2017

Data Storytelling

This year at Data Storytelling, we ran workshops for researchers working with Object-based data sets.

What is an object-based data set? It is any collection of three-dimensional objects you are working with for your research. This applies to a wide range of disciplines, from zoologists working with bones or taxidermy, to archaeologists researching ancient ceramic, but also medical or dentistry research, art history and conservation, and so on.

During our two-day workshop, our participant learnt to 3D scan objects, and generate a 3D model than they can then 3D print to have a replica or just visualise online and create beautiful online exhibition with 3D models, to share with other researchers.

Awesome team work creating this #3Dmodel from a #3Dscan and display it in @omeka ! #datstory @ResPlat @unimelb #resbaz #digitalcollections pic.twitter.com/8TKcVxXjH2

— Emilie Walsh (@emilouwalsh)

4 July 2017

Grainger museum at Data StoryTelling

For this event, we partnered with the Grainger museum, who kindly lent some objects from their collection.

Selecting objects from the

We were lucky to dig out some treasure and touch (with gloves!) and play with some of the personal belongings of Percy Grainger!

The participants were thrilled to get that opportunity and soon started to ask all kinds of questions about this particular denture cast, or an enigmatic lady’s shoe from the 19th century!

Time for some

Instead of looking at photos in a book of Percy Grainger’s artefacts, people were given the chance to directly interact with the real objects. This immediately engaged people because they can get a real life sense of  what these objects feel, weigh and even smell like. It’s a very visceral experience. It triggers the curiosity and get people working together very quickly!

What is object based learning?

Object-based learning has been a way to learn about cultural collections in the museum world for years, but it’s only recently that universities started to show an interest.

I asked our Training Consultant, Dr Christina Tuke Flanders, what are the benefits to bring Object Based Learning into the classroom.

She explained: “Introducing object based learning to your curriculum can make for a visceral experience for your students by lighting up their five senses. Touching objects that have a direct link to the past can enhance students imagination and therefore an understanding of a topic/concept.

This technique also promotes transferable skills such as teamwork and communication via the discussions that naturally stem from using objects in this way. And lastly, the brain loves novelty in learning, it is helpful to combine traditional learning experiences (lectures/tutorials/workshops) with an Object Based Learning experience.”

Object-based learning at the University of Melbourne

At the University of Melbourne, the new Arts West building has been designed to engage students with object-based learning. the cultural collections of the University are in display in windows across the building, and Arts West is equipped with a Gallery space for exhibitions and several Objects-Lab to engage directly with Artwork and artefact in the classroom

http://arts.unimelb.edu.au/articulation/editions/2016-editions/december-2016/object-based-learning-a-new-mode-in-arts-west

Case Study: Archaeology

3D printing can also be a fantastic tool for object-based learning. Annelies is a PhD candidate in Archaeology at the University of Melbourne and she has 3D scan some of the materials she works with, such as a Cyrus Cylinder, or some Egyptian statuette at Data Storytelling (Read more about it here).

She 3D printed a fac-simile of her Cyrus cylinder for conservation and pedagogy purposes. How great is it for students to actually get to touch a replica of a 3D artefact! To feel the embossing and engraving in it, to have a precise idea of its size and shape, is the best way to remember it and connect with it through experience.

Think of the potential of 3D printing for communication and teaching: how cool would it be to bring a 3D model at your talk for your audience to have a direct experience of what you are demonstrating!

If you want to organise a workshop on 3D modelling, 3D scanning and 3D printing, be in touch us at research bazaar!

Don’t be afraid and get in TOUCH with your research with Object Based Learning!

Originally posted by introverts-hideaway

by Emilie Walsh

For the second year in a row, Research Platform services is running Data Storytelling event for researchers across disciples. This will be an interactive team-based event, where you will learn with other researchers a range of skills to turn your research and your data into good storytelling material! How often do you need to turn a bunch of data into something coherent that you can communicate about? Or you need good visual communication material to promote and explain your work?Participants will be mentored in groups and supported in answering self-guided research questions with new digital methods, from data collection to visualisation.This will take place in the new digital studio in Arts West, a great collaborative space for researchers keen to up-skill in the digital tools!

Vincent and I will be running the Digital Archives of 3D objects stream. This is for anyone interested in working with objects based data sets : from art historians to zoologists, from dentistry to conservation researchers !

What’s @thevinniek scanning? Curious about #3Dscanning & digital archive of 3D objects? https://t.co/bGtOVl7Fqb @ResPlat @unimelb #datstory pic.twitter.com/Sy3Fa2owMQ

— Emilie Walsh (@emilouwalsh)

16 June 2017

For as long as researchers have been working with artefacts, bones, or any kind of  three-dimensional objects, they have found the need to document their data: from anatomy drawings, to photographs, there is always a need to keep a visual trace of your research material. Some objects are just too fragile to be handled too often, or can’t be moved across institutions to be available for other researchers to work with them. 

Digitising your object based data set can now be a good solution to archive your research, communicate about it, and share it with others.

For our 2-day workshop we have partnered with the Grainger Museum to work on some of their collection. They have shares with us some of their most fascinating artefact, for us to 3D scan them, tinker your 3D model, and archive them online!I went to the Grainger’s storage to help select and pick up these treasures:

Selecting objects from the @GraingerMuseum collection! Come to #datstory to learn #3Dscanning and online exhibition https://t.co/bGtOVl7Fqb pic.twitter.com/z3VdqrUw5x

— Emilie Walsh (@emilouwalsh)

22 June 2017

In our stream you will not only get the opportunity to use the university 3D scanners, but also learn how to use a range of digital tools to modify it, rescale it, play around with the lighting, and then export it to be displayed online, or even get a facsimile 3D printed!

How cool would it be to have a 3D model printed to communicate about your work, bring to a lecture or a presentation? There is a lot of interest recently around Objet-Based learning, and how we remember better when we get to experience, touch, feel and get a real sense of scale, texture and so on. 

Our Research Platform team have worked in the past to scan and print a replica of a roman coin, for archaeology students to get a better idea of it than with a photo!

Annelies Van de Ven has also been scanning and printing her cyrus cylinder for communication purposes!

Learn to do the same at our workshop!

Hurry up and register today!

https://datstory.eventbrite.com.au/

Data! Data! Data! I can’t make bricks without clay!
- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

How do we think about stories in today’s context of Artificial Intelligence, mixed reality, and automation? Is it possible to create engaging narratives amidst the endless stream of digital content? How can we narrativise data to set ourselves apart from the crowd as researchers?

Thankfully, the hardworking team at RezBaz can help! At Data Storytelling for Researchers, you will have the opportunity to answer these questions and many, many more.

This July we are hosting an interactive two-day intensive event focused entirely on telling interesting stories with data.

What is Data Storytelling for Researchers?:

Data Storytelling for researchers is free event, run over two consecutive days on Monday the 3rd and Tuesday the 4th of July from 9am - 5pm.

The event will comprise four streams, each with a focus on different methods of narrativization using different digital tools:

• Displaying Data Divinely: Archiving and Online Exhibits
  

• Digital Archives of 3D Objects
  

• Textual Analysis of Social Media Data, and
  

• Analysis and Visualisation of Public Databases

Sound like your cup of tea? (or wine)…

This is not your average training workshop. Instead of learning to use digital tools the standard way via an instructor-student approach, participants will develop their own data sets, problem solve, and learn to approach data creatively through hands-on, intuitive methods. You’ll be mentored in groups and supported in answering self-guided research questions with new digital approaches, from data collection to communicating your research story with stunning data visualisations.

At the end of the event, participants will present their data project proposal to a panel of experts for feedback. There will also be the opportunity to hear from Keynote speakers, engage with experts in the field, share ideas with other researchers, and meet like-minded people. The event will culminate in a session of group presentations moderated by a panel of judges, followed by canapés, drinks, and excellent prizes!

Apply to be part of Data Storytelling for Researchers here: 

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/data-storytelling-tickets-34995856549

In more detail, the 4 streams to choose from are:

Displaying Data Divinely: Archiving and Online Exhibits

In this stream, participants will work creatively to develop a data-collecting survey using KoboToolbox. Using cultural research techniques to tailor a survey form to their immediate environment, they’ll end the first part of the workshop with an original, new data set with which to work. Following this, participants will use the digital archiving tool Omeka to develop an engaging, informative online exhibit that casts their dataset in an interesting narrative of their own creation.

Learning objectives:

• How to design an archive (creating metadata categories)
• How to create a survey in Kobo Toolbox
• How to upload your archive to Omeka
• Organise your data in Omeka using Dublin Core metadata standards
• Display your data in an attractive online exhibition

Digital Archives of 3D Objects

Ever wanted to create an online museum of physical objects? Had an archive that you were wondering how to digitise? Come along to the Digital Archives of 3D Objects stream of DatStory where you can explore 3D modelling with tinkerCAD, 3D scanning, and archiving with Omeka!

Learning objectives:

• Object oriented learning
• Take a physical object and create a computerised model with 3D scanning
• Design and edit 3D objects in TinkerCAD
• With Omeka, archive them to create an interactive online museum
• Create a physical museum by printing your designs on a 3D printer; not an absolute must!

Textual analysis of Social Media Data

Learn to capture social media data and create your own research corpus using text mining with TAGS. Participants will then learn how to analyse their data with the Natural Language Toolkit, a computational linguistics tool for automated textual analysis. Participants will also be introduced to linguistics concepts such as concordancing, collocations and programming methods to perform these tasks on large datasets.

Learning objectives:

• What an API is and how to use the Twitter API to scrape text data
• How to process your data for analysis
• Install Python and nltk data on your computer
• Analyse textual data using collocational analysis
• Create basic graphs from your textual data

Analysis and Visualisation of Public Databases

Political donations – Compiling and exploring an online database with R.

Australian political parties rely heavily on donations from domestic and international businesses. Where does the money come from? How is it distributed? Is it all declared? What can this tell us about democracy in Australia? In this stream, participants will be guided in manipulating and visualizing data scraped from the web to answer these questions and ask new ones.

Learning objectives:

• Scrape data from a website into R
• Clean data with tidyR
• Analyse data with dplyR
• Visualise and interact with data with Plot.ly

Make an impact in presentations, journal articles, news articles and more!

To register:

 https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/data-storytelling-tickets-34995856549

Questions are welcome. Please don’t hesitate to contact Kim Doyle: doyle.k@unimelb.edu.au

We will email the registration form to all those that indicate their interest.

…And why wouldn’t you be interested! Data is cool, just like this…

Be there, be square! 

Are you interested in research? Do you identify yourself as a researcher? Have you attended one of our workshops but haven’t had the chance to apply your newfound skills yet? Would you like to develop your research communication skills? Then Res.Search is just the event for you.

What is Res.Search?

Well, Res.Search is research, ResBaz style. So much of research is lonely, thankless work. Researchers are often stuck in a lab or room, collecting and analysing data all on their own. At ResBaz, we want to change the nature of research. We want you to be able to do your research faster, better, smarter, more collaboratively. We want research to be reproducible, accessible and understandable. At Res.Search, you will conduct research in a diverse TEAM, working on openly available datasets.

via GIPHY

Res.Search is a free event that will run over four consecutive Thursday evenings from June 29th to July 20th (6 - 9pm). Each week’s training session will focus on one aspect of research. The first session will focus on data interrogation, using tools such as: R, Matlab, Python and NLTK (if you’ve wanted to have a play with natural language data, now’s your chance!). During the second session, you will learn about effective visual communication: the dos and don’ts of data visualisation. The third session will focus on oral communication: how to effectively communicate findings to an audience. This event will culminate in an evening of group presentations, moderated by a panel of judges.

FAQs

Will programming be taught at Res.Search?

No. We will teach you how to clean, process and visualise data using the tool of your choice. However, we will not be teaching you the programming basics themselves. If you would like to learn how to program, consider attending one of our beginners programming courses: http://melbourne.resbaz.edu.au/calendar

Will training in statistics be provided?

In short no. We will not provide training in statistics. We will however have a data analyst with whom you can discuss statistical issues.

What tech tools are available?

We will provide data cleaning and processing training in R, Python, MATLAB and Natural Language Toolkit (NLTK). This will allow participants to look at both qualitative and quantitative research.

Is programming knowledge essential for applying to Res.Search?

Not necessarily. We would like you to analyse and visualise data in a tool of your choice. But if you don’t know how to program but are interested in research/ have other awesome skills you can provide the team, then we would love for you to apply.

What is the time commitment?

As mentioned above, the event will run over four weeks. Participants are required to attend 3 hour sessions every Thursday night beginning 29th June. Participants are encouraged to work on their research projects outside these contact hours.

Sounds interesting? Apply to be a part of Res.Search here: http://go.unimelb.edu.au/ov66 by June 22nd, 2017. If you have any queries, please contact ResBaz at research.bazaar@gmail.com or tweet us @ResPlat.

by Annelies Van de Ven

The liberal arts and sciences are often seen as faculties that are diametrically opposed to one another, with differing theories, methods, and materials. However, as researchers working in fields like archaeology, conservation and collection studies will tell you, this is not always the case. I am an archaeologist working both in the field and in reception studies, one key aim of my research is to bring together bits and pieces from the sciences, engineering, humanities and social sciences and show the value of interdisciplinarity in research, teaching and learning to academics and the wider public.

One of the projects I am currently working on attempts to find strategies for presenting archaeological materials in a way that facilitates museum learning. Too often objects are just plonked on dusty museum shelves alongside dry antiquated text labels, showing no indication that any time has been spent considering audience experience and engagement. Such exhibitions do not stick with visitors in any positive sense, and often inhibit rather than encourage learning, as they depict the content as stale and obsolete. However, there are numerous tried and tested strategies that encourage deeper interaction that could be applied to reinvigorate museum practice.

To this end I have been working in the area of object-based learning, particularly in hands-on activities where students get to handle de-accessioned artefacts. However, this material is not all-encompassing and also not openly accessible, leading me on a search for alternative methods, that ultimately resulted in my engagement with 3D printing and scanning.

The thing that really drew me into this technique was the flip-flopping that 3D modelling allows between physical and digital object, giving people new ways in which to understand and analyse objects. In order to demonstrate the value of this method to museums and archaeologists, I decided to 3D print the object that I focus on in my thesis, the Cyrus Cylinder, more specifically, one of the many casts made of it and sent to Australia during the formation of archaeological departments in the twentieth century.

With a lot of help from Research Platforms Services Vincent Khau and some trial and error (I am not the most dextrous of individuals), I learned to effectively scan my object.

By the end of the process I even felt comfortable enough with the software to show my project to a fellow PG student who promptly tried to use the software to scan his own face, which in this case was not very successful.

After a total of three multi-hour visits to the mechanical engineering workshop, due to software and computer storage issues (my file turned out to be monstrously large) I to had finally created a cohesive digital replica.

The next step was to print it, which turned out to be the least labour intensive, but simultaneously the most nerve-wrecking part. Clicking the start button for the 9-hour print job, gave me a feeling that I would imagine to be akin to the royal pastry chef putting the Queen’s birthday cake in the oven after hours of toil.

After one failed attempt where the printer shut down halfway through the manufacturing process, I had finally constructed my own miniature copy of the Cyrus Cylinder that could be used for teaching and display.

Amongst the other exciting tools pitched at ResBazConf ‘17, many of our attendees were able to experience a brief introduction to the beauty of LaTeX.

Like most other pitches, the LaTeX sessions were split about half between a brief introduction and a fun challenge. The introduction covered some historical context, explained the benefits of LaTeX and how LaTeX compares to other document creation software, and showed how to create simple LaTeX documents as required by the challenge.

For the challenge, credit for the idea goes to Kerry Halupka. We thought it would create a lot of amusement if attendees had to first create the most terrifying equation they could think of, and then pass it to the next group, who had to write a poem about it.

Although there are many ways to use LaTeX, it was essential for groups to be able to easily share their work with each other, so we took advantage of ShareLaTeX. University of Melbourne is currently trialling a ShareLaTeX institutional licence, and as a platform for teaching LaTeX we find it offers a very smooth experience.

Demonstrating simple LaTeX usage, and executing the challenge, would have been impossible without the assistance of volunteers. Many thanks to Josh Hodge, Daljeet Walia, Alexis Lucattini, and Errol Lloyd.

If you would like to know more about LaTeX and how LaTeX fits into a research workflow, you might wish to have a look at these past blog posts:

• LaTeX: Not your regular rubberised goods
• Defender of the Research Universe

We will also be running our first full LaTeX workshop for 2017 on 20 March! If you would like to come along, please register here.

Research Bazaar invites applications for five new Research Community Coordinators to build the R/RStudio, Matlab, Python, graphing/mapping and survey tools communities. The successful applicants will grow their respective communities through regular workshops. 

You would also be expected and supported in organising events for your communities, as well as team specific and Research Platforms-wide events such as Data Storytelling for Researchers and the famous Research Bazaar conference at the beginning of next year.

Check out our post of this year’s conference here.

Please submit your: 

1. cover letter
2. CV / Resume 
3. document addressing essential selection criteria (3 pages maximum) 

to nikkir@student.unimelb.edu.au for R, Matlab and Python submissions and to kcdoy1@gmail.com for graphing and survey tools submissions. Applications close Friday March 31. You will find the position description for each of the roles, as well as the selection criteria in the documents below:

R position description

Matlab position description

Python position description

Mapping and Graphing position description

Survey Tools position description

By Nikki Rubinstein and Brendan Ansell

Over the first two days of ResBaz, researchers attended short 30 minute interactive pitches on the various digital tools supported by Research Platforms. We had a great time in the R tent, both with some terrible pirate jokes and through learning about the power of reproducible graphics.

Really loving the caliber of geeky humour at #resbaz pic.twitter.com/Wahtg5w1Es

— Millicent Weber (@Millicent_Weber)

February 21, 2017

After a short introduction to the R programming language, attendees were introduced to the titanic dataset. This dataset describes the characteristics of the passengers on board the titanic, including whether they survived. We learnt that it really was women and children first, with females having a much higher survival rate than males across all passenger classes.

Female wins!
In the R titanic dataset tutorial with @nikkirubinstein
Team Sri, Fumi and Bingos entry: pic.twitter.com/1Ju46Xj28x

— Dr Astrid Zeman (@astrid_zeman)

February 21, 2017

Attendees were then challenged to explore the R language by creating the ugliest possible barplot of survival rates. As you can see in the below slide show, they more than rose to the challenge!

This would not have been possible without our amazing helpers: Molly, Luke, Caitlin, Sepideh, Tom, Caroline, Anwar, Harry, Sadia, Fateme and Meghana. Tom went so far as to create a Shiny app of the ugly plot challenge! If you’re interested in helping out or being involved with our future workshops and events, we would love to have you!

Meet @MFredle, one of our amazing R helpers at #ResBaz and a prolific tweeter 😍 pic.twitter.com/WUZM6uc0m0

— Nikki Rubinstein (@nikkirubinstein)

February 22, 2017

This was just a taste of the amazing power of the R programming language. If you’re interested in learning about R, we are running a 2-day introductory R workshop on March 24 and 27. Click here to register.

By Kim Doyle

nltk @ #ResBaz (with images, tweets) · kim_doyle1

Louise van der Werff

Good morning! And welcome to the second day of ResBaz!

All set up for the second day of #ResBaz. It’s going to be a beautiful day 🎪🌞 pic.twitter.com/A8JhUrwtU4

— Nikki Rubinstein (@nikkirubinstein)

February 21, 2017

Lilly Ryan presented the keystory for this morning. Lilly is both a software engineer and medieval historian.

5 years ago Lilly was a history and theology student, she was fascinated by witchcraft in the middle ages and societies surveillance and persecution of suspected witches at the time. Lilly spent several years studying witches, Latin, state-sanctioned persecution and torture, which culminated in an Honours thesis focussing on the heretic-hunting texts produced by the Catholic Inquisition in the 14th century.

In 2013 after finishing her honours thesis, she envisioned a life in academia, to work as a historian and get her doctorate, but also wanted to take a break and experience working in the ‘real world’.

Lilly Ryan, historian and software engineer

In her own time Lilly also learnt to code, dabbled in Python and soldering, volunteered in hackathons and other tech events, and eventually landed a job in a data centre, where she got to see what the internet looked like ‘under the hood’. She now builds identity and access management systems, runs privacy and security workshops and teaches about privacy, technology and surveillance systems to lay people and other engineers. Lilly now works as a senior software engineer for a multinational consultancy.

After working in IT for a number of years, Lilly felt like she had forgotten her identity as a historian. One day though she had an epiphany, after watching the filmclip for the Aerosmith Remake ‘Walk This Way’ With Run-D.M.Cwhere two competing bands come together and combine their sound into a new style of music. 

Lilly realised that she could combine her knowledge of surveillance states in the middle ages with modern surveillance systems. This is a unique skill in the IT industry, as Lilly jokes that most IT experts believe history started in the 70s, along with the development of the modern internet.  She now runs workshops and gives talks on digital security and privacy in a hyperconnected world. She enjoys using her knowledge of technology to help others retain their human rights while using it.

By Louise van der Werff

After a busy day attending ResPitches, participants were treated to an evening of talks, food and fun.

Reaching the end of the first day of #resbaz with an outdoor setting for #nerdnite - see you tomorrow for day 2! pic.twitter.com/LrHVhBdNHm

— Dr Astrid Zeman (@astrid_zeman)

February 21, 2017

Lightening talks, Guru Talks, and Tech Talks were held under the bedouine tent before dinner. This gave researchers the opportunity to share their research experiences with each other, swap stories and generally wind down after a busy day in Wilson Hall.

The every popular NerdNite was then held after dinner.

The 3 speakers for NerdNite were Cordelia Fine, Isabel Zbukvic and Dr Jason Chuen.

Cordelia Fine, Professor of History & Philosophy of Science at the School of Hostorical and Philosophical Studies, spoke about gender assumptions, misconceptions and her new book Testosterone Rex.

Cordelia Fine @nerdnitemelb. She assumes we’re all nerds. I’m gonna take that as a compliment 😊 #resbaz pic.twitter.com/VXeicA7XyY

— Kim Doyle (@kim_doyle1)

February 21, 2017

Isabel Zbukvic discussed her PhD in behavioural neuroscience and her PhD journey. Her research addresses what makes adolescents vulnerable to mental illness, focussing on drug addiction and anxiety disorders.

@IsabelZbukvic #motivation to complete #PhD @ResBaz! Sleep, eat, connect, have reasonable expectations! #resbaz @unimelb @nerdnitemelb pic.twitter.com/z5CPI58X82

— Emilie Walsh (@emilouwalsh)

February 21, 2017

Dr Jason Chuen, Clinical Senior Fellow in MDHS and based at the Austin Hospital Department of Surgery, is a Specialist Vascular Surgeon and Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. He spoke about technological progress in medicine and how it transforms the delivery of modern healthcare.

@ozvascdoc on TIMTAMS Technology, Innovation & Medicine, Traps & Minefields #ResBaz @nerdnitemelb @unimelb pic.twitter.com/zASj58vcOB

— CarlosAndres Agudelo (@agudeloandres)

February 21, 2017

NerdNite at ResBaz was also the last for our wonderful team member and NerNite organiser Dejan Jotanovic @HeyDejan. Sad but Sweet!

Thank you @heyDejan for being an awesome Nerd Nite boss. #weloveyou #goodluck #thankyou https://t.co/KXbqlw9XZT

— Nerd Nite Melbourne (@nerdnitemelb)

February 21, 2017

A wide selection of full workshops have been organised to run in the upcoming weeks post-ResBaz. Expand the knowledge you have gained by attending the short ResPitches at ResBaz by attending a more comprehensive workshop. 

Click on the links below to be redirected to an Eventbrite form where you can sign up.

MATLAB for Beginners
Textual analysis with the Natural Language Toolkit
Introduction to Research Cloud Computing
Introduction to Computer-Aided Design with Autodesk Inventor
Introduction to Twitter Scraping with TAGS
Introductory LaTeX for Articles and Reports
3D Slicer for Beginners
Introduction to R
Data Visualisation on the Web with Plotly/D3
An Introduction to 3D Modelling with Fusion 360

We’d love to see you at one of our workshops :)

If you have any questions about the workshops, please email nicole.unimelb@gmail.com

By Louise van der Werff

The ResPitches have been running this morning with great success. The feeling under the 10 small tents within Wilson Hall is is one of intimacy and collaboration. There is a background murmur of conversation permeating each tent, but participants are cosy enough in the tent with their instructor and helpers that they are able to follow along with the lessons well.

Participants are introduced to the tools before being thrust into hands on challenges, helped along by ResBaz Helpers who have very kindly volunteered their time to make the ResPitches as comprehensive an experience and possible. This opportunity for hands on experience with the tools really helps to lay a good foundation for understanding, and will hopefully encourage registrations to our full workshops happening in the coming weeks.

T - 30 mins til my ResPitch for #ResBaz - you can still come & signup at the front! We are at Wilson hall @unimelb 😁 pic.twitter.com/HDa95eeCHK

— Sila Genc (@silascribbles)

February 21, 2017

The best way to learn R is by doing - today we’re doing ugly plots! Any ideas for how to make this WORSE? #resbaz #resbazmelb #Rstudio pic.twitter.com/1T9o8dMrYA

— Caitlin Pfeiffer (@RHDandme)

February 20, 2017

Time to flex your #datascience muscles with our #ResBaz challenges this morning! So much brainpower in one little tent. pic.twitter.com/5vouaAXPMw

— Research Platforms (@ResPlat)

February 20, 2017

By Louise van der Werff 

Upon registration all participants were asked to submit a poster, outlining their research background, digital toolbox (which tools they have skills in and use in their research), their favourite tool (and why), and their research SOS. The research SOS is  a short description of a problem you’ve encountered or project you’d like to do if you had the technical knowhow. Maybe somebody else at ResBaz can help.

Participants looking at posters after the welcoming remarks. 

Jennie Rosenbaum, (Masters of Contemporary Arts), has developed an Augmented Reality app on IOS and Android which overlays changing imagery onto the static images of her poster (see below).

More on posters to come. 

By Louise van der Werff

The tea and coffee stations are a welocome sight before ResBaz17 kicks off in full swing. Check out that lens flare!

The bedouine tent is filling up with participants and organisers alike waiting for the welcoming remarks and keystories to begin. I can hear friendly chatter all around me, people meeting each other for the first time and swapping their research experiences, discussing their projects, and getting excited for the day to begin. The relaxed atmosphere has people happy to discuss both their passions and challenges. 

Waiting for the opening remarks. 

Dejan Jotanovic is giving the welcoming remarks. “ResBaz is a campaign, a community and a conference.” It allows researchers to do their research better, faster stronger. ResBaz is an event that is now running across multiple sites all over the world.

ResBaz thrives for Diversity, Community and Open Access.

“In a world of alternative facts, research knowledge is important.”

The keystory speakers are our very own Kim Doyle and Nikki Rubinstein. 

Kim is a PhD student in Media and Communications and team lead of our Data Mining and Visualisation team. Kim is speaking about Research Platforms, where our services reside. Our philosophy is that research should be open, multicultural, and filled with colourful people. It shouldn’t be isolating, it should bring people in from all corners of the university to form a supportive community for all. Our major focuses are upskilling, community support, and social events. We run training workshops and special events throughout the year. 

Kim started out in her journey with Research Platforms as a Helper, has worked her way up team lead within the group, and has nurtured coding skills within herself that she’d never thought she would learn by teaching Natural Language Toolkit. 

 Nikki is a final year PhD student in the Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, managing the Research Commuity Coordinators for R, MatLab and Python. Before joining research platforms Nikki had a research questions: Can she improve current clinical algorithms for vision field tests?

Nikki attended ResBaz2015, with the expectation if learning some new skill in R, but was blown away by the much wider community feel of the conference. She then signed up as a Helper at ResBaz2016, and very much enjoyed sharing her growing knowledge with coding newbies. Soon after she joined the group as a Research Community Coordinator. 

The primary focus of this role is community. You can build community by engaging people in workshops, and empowering them to ‘pay it forward’, sharing the knowledge that they have gained to help others within their community. Our workshops are free, and all we ask is that you share your experiences and knowledge gained Research Platforms with your peers, and maybe even volunteering to be a Helper for a free workshop, or for one of our bigger events such as the Research Bazaar. You never know, you may just land a role within our team. 

Contact us at Research.bazaar@gmail.com if you are interested in joining our team.

By Louise van der Werff

It’s a beautiful sunny 23 degree day here in Melbourne today, and ResBaz17 is already kicking off. Located within and around Wilson Hall at Melbourne University in Melbourne, this years Research Bazaar promises to be a fun and exciting event, and quite different in format to previous years. 

The registration desk is getting busy busy, even before 9am! 

This year, instead of taking part in full tool workshops, participants will instead get the opportunity to view a variety of different ‘ResPitches’, shorter 30min sessions designed to whet the appetite. All participants then get first dibs on full free training workshops to take place in the following weeks. 

The tents set up in Wilson Hall where the ResPitches will take place.

A peek inside on of the tents, with its lovely Moroccan theme

We are currently waiting for the Welcoming remarks and keystory.

Today, we look at the history of type. We hope it inspires in you a love for beautiful lettering :)