Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) has revolutionised how research is conducted and has become key throughout all aspects of the research lifecycle. This pervasiveness of technology necessitates new skills and types of research collaboration, as research supported by DRI aims at ever larger scales and broader interdisciplinary collaboration.

DRIFT (DRI-focussed training for research facilitators and teams) is a project that aims to develop and deliver training for two main audiences: research facilitators, and research teams. This is complemented by community engagement work in domains and institutions where visibility of DRI is low. It is particularly important to develop support for research facilitators as they play a vital and trusted role in nurturing links between technical professionals and the research community, thus enhancing the impact of the skills development activities we are undertaking.

We have three main objectives:

  • To support research facilitators working within communities that could benefit from DRI offerings so that they can efficiently assist researchers understand its advantages.
  • To train research teams in skills that benefit collaboration, team science, and inter- or multi-disciplinary working.
  • To connect with a wide range of research institutions and disciplines, with a special focus on those without existing direct access to institutional HPC services.

We will achieve these objectives by developing courses and other content for both research facilitators and research teams, by runningDRI awareness roadshows, including small demonstration HPC clusters, in universities and departments where visibility of DRI is low, and by extending and improving the open-source Gutenberg training platform. These activities will improve the way that the research community builds the expertise required to efficiently and effectively use DRI.

The DRIFT team:

EPCC, University of Edinburgh - Laura Moran, Neil Chue Hong, Weronika Filinger, Anna Roubickova, Charaka Palansiruya

Imperial College London - Jeremy Cohen, Eirini Zormpa

University of Oxford - Martin Robinson