On Thursday 9th of October, almost 20 software training enthusiasts met in-person in Utrecht at Wonders of Work. With the room being a bit hidden at the end of the venue, badges that could be costumized by stickers, and coffee and sweets on offer right when we entered, we immediatly had the feeling of an intimate event. The afternoon started with a general overview of the Open Science NL powered RST-NL project, including upcoming education and network opportunities for software trainers. Next, we had some fun interactive parts like speed-dating and providing input to the RST-NL project. Part of the crowd already knew each other, but joined the speed-dating process nonetheless to gather more inspiration and connections. As one of the participants said: “This is exactly what I needed, I am feeling full of energy and inspiration again after talking to so many nice collegues!”. As the speed-dating proceeded however, more and more people became annoyed by the ringing of the bell which indicated the end of a 5 min slot, as everyone was so inclined to keep on talking and sharing experiences. After a short refreshment break, the group split up in 4 groups of 4-5 people and rotated around the room to provide input for the RST-NL network.
Input for the network contained (not a complete list):
- Suggestions for communication (website, newsletter, open source platform to chat, updates from partners, lightning talks, fire-side talks, overview of the network to ease reaching out to each other)
- Suggestions for events (walk through the forest/dunes with BBQ, visit colleagues from other institutes, create expertise hubs or local meet-ups around the Netherlands, once per year a bigger event so interest groups can present their work)
- What training is needed to become a better teacher (skill-up sessions on educational design, assessment design, classroom engagement and gamification)
- Ideas for the creation of co-working or special interest groups and potential topics (to collaboratively develop education materials and gather resources)
We ended the day with a nice breathing and grounding exercise done on spot by one of the participants, after which we had some drinks and snacks and more laughing.
Overall we look back at a successful meet-up of the RST-NL network; we met new people, got inspired and had a lot of fun!
Please feel welcome to join us next time: annual RST-NL day on the 5th of March in Utrecht!
I promise I won’t bring the bell.
