Can you help us find a new me?

By Damien Irving.

I got a postdoc!! That was the news I shared with our team of Research Community Coordinators (ResComs) last week. I’m super excited about the opportunity to continue my climate research, super stressed about suddenly needing to finish my PhD asap, and also super sad that I’ll be leaving the ResFamily.    

It was back in November 2013 that we ran our first Software Carpentry workshop. At the time I was the only qualified instructor in Australia and would never have dreamed that the local Aus/NZ Software Carpentry community would grow to be the unstoppable juggernaut it is today (check out this map to see what I mean). A large part of that growth is due to the time and money Research Platform Services has invested in ResComs like myself, Scott Ritchie, Isabell Kiral-Kornek and Kerry Halupka. David Flanders and Fiona Tweedie consistently drum into us the importance of community building; the skills and knowledge they’ve passed on have empowered us to take a leading role in growing the local Software Carpentry community. I’ll be forever grateful for that opportunity (it certainly gave me an edge over other postdoc applicants) and hope to stay in touch as a ResAlumni.

Before I leave to take up my new postdoc position, we’re looking to hire my replacement so I can do some handover. This post is therefore an appeal to the local ResBaz community - do you know a UniMelb Masters or PhD student (including yourself) who would make a good ResCom? If so, please point them towards the position description. The community we’ve built obviously means a lot to me, so I’ve got my fingers crossed for some really great applicants!