Rothamsted Data Hackathon: Communicating Science through Data

"Hackathon: , an integration of the words hack and marathon, is traditionally an event in which a large number of people meet to engage in collaborative computer programming."

Rothamsted Research, with strategic funding from UKRI BBSRC, hosts three internationally renowned National Bioscience Research Infrastructures (NBRIs); the Rothamsted Long-Term Experiments (RLTEs), the North Wyke Farm Platform (NWFP) and the Rothamsted Insect Survey (RIS).They exist for the benefit of the scientific community in general and both their facilities and the open datasets they produce are freely available to researchers.

Under the guidance of our NBRI experts, you will have access to the data and APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) with a challenge to communicate our NBRIs science and achievements through data.

This FREE event takes places in the magnificent grounds of the Royal Agricultural University, in the heart of the beautiful Cotswolds.

Whether you are a developer, designer, project manager, branding/marketing expert, or something else entirely, you are welcome to this event, either as a team or join a team on the day. This is an opportunity to network with people in the field of bioscience, agriculture and application development and learn new skills.

Additionally, we will be rewarding the best teams with prizes!

Spaces are available on first come - first served basis and early booking is advisable -  .

You can find more information on our three National Bioscience Research Infrastructures and their data on their respective web sites.  

• e-RA and the Rothamsted Long-term Experiments: the oldest, continuous agronomic experiments in the world .
  https://www.era.rothamsted.ac.uk/
• The North Wyke Farm Platform ‘farm lab’ is a large-scale research facility to study the complete flow of nutrients from soil to food, with the clear and distinct aim of making farming a more sustainable endeavour.
  https://nw-farmplatform.rothamsted.ac.uk/
  
• The Rothamsted Insect Survey is a nationwide network of light-traps and suction-traps that collect invaluable data on the migration of moths, aphids and insect biodiversity more generally.
  https://insectsurvey.com/

What to expect:

The timetable is still being finalised so timings could change as it also depends on the number of participants. 

Saturday:

• 12:00 Doors open - registration with a sandwich buffet
• 13:00 Welcome, orientation, main speaker
• 13:00 Dr Patricia Mathabe - Keynote address
• Data, science and project ideas presentations, and teams forming
• 15:00 Team formations and coding starts
• 16:00 Refreshments served
• Team work continues
• 18:00 Dinner is served
• 19:00 Second motivational speech - speaker to be confirmed
• More time to code
• 21:00 Evening cocoa
• You  may continue to code through the night... 

Sunday

• 07:30 - 8:30 Breakfast is served
• 09:00: 3 minute teams state of the projects (name, what we do)
• Coding continues..
• 13:00 Networking sandwich buffet
• 15:00 Project deadline and tidy up
• 15:30 Project presentations
• Panel votes while teams tidy up
• 16:30 Prize giving ceremony
• 17:00 Event ends

Drinks, hot and cold, will be available throughout the weekend.

Some Practicalities

Cost: Supported by an Impact Acceleration Award, this event is free to participants.

Food: We will feed you throughout the whole event - let us know of your dietary needs upon registration.

Sleeping: Accommodation is available free, on site, in single or twin rooms. You can book and specify your preferences at registration.

Getting there: The Royal Agricultural University is easily accessible by train, coach and car from most parts of the UK.   We have limited funds for bursaries to cover some travel expenses for UK based Students, and early career participants. Unfortunately we cannot support costs for international travel. 

FAQ

What coding level do I need? If you are not a software developer or a data scientist, you will come with other skill that are welcome - user experience, ideas, writing... You are most welcome. 

Can you pay for my travel from outside the UK? Unfortunately we cannot support costs for international travel. 

What are the travel bursary elective criteria? UK residents, Juniors, ECR, or student applications will be considered, and only given to applicants who have attended to event in full - we will send the application form in the beginning of August.