Group meetings

This page applies to these departments so far: CS, NBE, PHYS (if others want to join, let us know).

We would like to meet with each research group once a year. This isn’t to advertise stuff to you, but to hear what you all need but can’t get, so that we can help you with that. A group meeting consists of your group plus other technical services staff (Science-IT, CS-IT, etc.) which are relevant for your group’s work. Hopefully, we can immediately solve some of your major problems. Your group will come away better able to use the best possible services, and we will come away knowing what to focus on in the next year.

Practical matters

Ideally, someone (Science-IT, CS-IT, etc.) contacts your group leader to arrange a time. On the other hand, contact your most local (department) anytime to arrange a group meeting - we are always happy for an eager audience. Your local support will request all the other relevant parties to be there.

The group meeting would happen whenever is most convenient for you - for example, during your regular group meetings. Please propose the best times for you. One hour is sufficient.

You don’t need any particular preparation. If you do anything, think about what computational/data/software tools you use and what problems you have - you could have one or a few people tell about the typical workflows of the group.

Who we are, what we do

We are Technical services (in particular ones focused on computing). See the rest of scicomp.aalto.fi for the types of things we support. Welcome, researchers! tells our most important services for you (+ the most important ones by others at Aalto).

Also at Aalto, you also have these other major service units which are relevant to you (this meeting isn’t mainly about them, but we have inside knowledge of IT Services so can help there):

  • IT Services (ITS): General mass-consumption IT services for all Aalto.

  • Research services: applying for grants, administrating, legal, etc.

  • Learning services: teaching

  • Communication services

  • Finance

  • HR

Topics

  • Reminder of services available at Aalto and your department (short)

  • News: Latest changes or improvements (short)

  • Stories from the field: how do you do your work?

  • Feedback: How do you do your work now? What works well? What doesn’t work well? What do you need in the future? Tell us all your complaints, because we can’t work on the right things without them. (long)

News / topical items, 2022

Discussion starters

../../_images/hierarchy-of-researchers-needs.png

The types of research service needs you may have, sorted into different levels of concern. Source

  • Data

    • Where you store and share data

    • Data-driven research: need more support?

    • Department (project, archive), Triton (scratch), cloud, any other needs?

    • Management: collection, storage, transfer, archive, sharing.

    • What do you usually use?

    • Sensitive data: support and storage locations

  • Computing

    • Cloud vs shared workstations vs personal workstations vs laptops

    • Desktops, laptops

    • Scientific computing

    • GPUs

    • Containers for difficult to run software (docker, singularity, etc)

    • Virtual machines

    • CSC (supercomputers, cloud, data, collaboration between universities in Finland)

  • Usability and accessibility (user interfaces)

  • Teaching

    • Learning Services

    • Online solutions on cloud platforms (local solutions, VMs, Azure)

    • jupyter.cs

    • A+

    • Chat: Zulip, Teams, Slack, …

  • Software

    • Installation problems

    • Reusing old software

  • Support

    • Support channels

    • Daily SciComp garage - every workday, 13:00, online.

    • Chat

    • Software development: (tools, best practices, collaboration)

    • RSE service

    • How to more closely support teaching/research

  • General services

    • WWW servers

    • CSC services

    • Email

    • Printing

    • Technical procurement

  • Open Science / Open Data / Open Access

See also