RSE Kick-Off Event at PSI¶
On July 15th, the RSE community at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) held its first kick-off event. The event was a great success, with over 40 participants from various departments and research groups at PSI.
Two keynote presentations were given by Elke Zimoch on "Cybersecurity: Humans in Cyberphysical Systems" and by Michael Weinold on "My RSE@PSI Journey: From Scripts to Software".
After a thorough brainstorming session, the participants discussed various ideas and proposals to enhance the RSE community at PSI. The event concluded with a networking session, allowing participants to connect and share their experiences. Of the many ideas, the following were highlighted as particularly promising:
| Idea | Utility | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| RSE@PSI Survey | Gather feedback and ideas from the RSE community to show to management. | 🟡 |
| Hackathon | Foster collaboration, innovation, and community building across different PSI groups. | 🔴 |
| Website of Software Tools developed at PSI | Showcase PSI's software development capabilities and promote best practices. | 🟢 |
| RSE Introduction for new PSI Staff | Provide new staff with essential knowledge about RSE practices and tools at PSI. | 🟢 |
Brainstorming Results¶
The brainstorming session was a key part of the event, where participants shared their ideas and expectations for the RSE community at PSI. The following sections summarize the main themes and proposals that emerged from the discussions:
Open Brainstorming¶
- Mentorship and contact persons from the RSE community
- Professionalize software development concepts at PSI
Proposals for Specific Interest Groups¶
- Python programming (getting started, best practices, promote use within institute)
- Julia programming (getting started, best practices, promote use within institute)
- Technical documentation (best practices, tools, examples)
- AI and ML in programming (best practices, tools, knowledge sharing)
- High-performance computing
- Web development
- Programming tools for data analysis
- Version control systems
How to Increase Visibility and Outreach¶
- Institutionalize the RSE community (create a formal structure, including regular meetings)
- Involve (line) management (get support to promote/involve staff in RSE practices and tools)
- Partner with other RSE groups in the ETH Domain (invite speakers, collaborate on events)
- Large-scale events (hackathons, group code-review, conferences)
What Do You Expect from the Community and How to Get There?¶
| Expectation | Solution |
|---|---|
| Push best practices in software development | Hackathons, documentation, events/talks/courses... |
| Community building | Regular meetings, online platforms for discussion, high-level events... |
| Formal training for students/postdocs on software | Mentorship programs, workshops, online courses... |
| Get recognition for RSE work | Showcase projects, highlight contributions in PSI publications, awards... |
