Last March, we gathered at Domstad in Utrecht for the first RST-NL meet-up of 2026: an engaging day with trainers, research support specialists, and researchers from across the Netherlands – all connected by an interest in research software training and development! 💡
Here are a few key takeaways from the day. Photo’s are posted at the bottom! 📷
Train-the-Trainer opportunities
Irina Motoc (4TU.ResearchData) introduced the goals of the Digital Capacity for NES project (DC4NES), a TDCC-NES funded initiative that aims to strengthen digital skills training capacity across the Natural and Engineering Sciences in the Netherlands by training 50 certified Carpentries instructors, providing collaborative lesson development opportunities and supporting the creation of training hubs.
It was great to see how many people in the room were already familiar with The Carpentries and interested in expanding local training capacity.
The first call for participants runs from 4 March to 29 May 2026, with training taking place in October 2026. For this round, endorsement from your local Digital Competence Center is required. You can read more about the project here. Please don’t hesitate to contact Irina for more information!
Irina Motoc
Project Coordinator 4TU.ResearchData
TU Delft
i.motoc@tudelft.nl
Co-designing training on Meta-Template and Code Auditor
Manuel Garcia Alvarez (TU Delft) and Serkan Girgin (University of Twente) explored how training materials for Meta-Template and Code Auditor can best support research software communities in practice.
Meta-Template helps research teams align software development practices through reusable project templates, while Code Auditor analyses research software projects for missing or conflicting best practices and generates actionable improvement reports.
A key outcome of the session was the shared recognition that training materials become more valuable when they are developed collaboratively, connected to existing communities, and grounded in real-world use cases. Participants highlighted the importance of peer exchange, co-design, and creating spaces where trainers actively shape materials together.
You can read the full reflection report here.
Dr. Manuel Garcia Alvarez
Research Software Engineer
TU Delft, DCC
m.g.garciaalvarez@tudelft.nl
Dr. Serkan Girgin
Associate Professor
University of Twente, Faculty ITC
s.girgin@utwente.nl
Next Up! Community collaboration and Open Educational Resources
These discussions connect strongly to the upcoming RST-NL Meetup on 18 June, which focuses on collaborative lesson development and the reuse and remixing of Open Educational Resources.
The event is designed around participation and community-led development: from pitching lesson ideas and forming collaborative teams in the morning session, to hands-on exploration of open educational resources during the afternoon workshop.
But wait – there is more! We are hosting a summer borrel in the garden of the Anatomiegebouw on the lovely Utrecht canals. 😎☀️
We hope to see you there!
More information and registration
