If you use software in your research - or want to use it in the future - the Collaborations Workshop (CW11) is the perfect opportunity for you to meet people who you could work with. The workshop brings together researchers from all disciplines, software developers, project managers and funders with the aim of creating new collaborations and finding solutions to research problems.

The two-day workshop provide attendees with everything needed to create successful collaborations. It’s the perfect forum for people to discuss their research and their project’s requirements, and then meet the people who can fulfil those requirements.

Who should attend?

• Researchers from all disciplines
• Software developers
• Project managers
• Funders

For the uninitiated, attending an event with a flexible agenda can feel like a leap of faith ("what happens if I spend two days at the workshop, only to find that it's not relevant to my work?"). This is the third year of the Collaborations Workshop, and we've not yet found anyone who hasn't found the event useful. This is mainly because you can control what you spend your time on: if a particular session isn't as relevant to your research as you would like, we can create a new session based on something that is relevant.

We can't guarantee that you will meet people from your field and talk about the topics you've discussed in the past... but that's the point. We can guarantee that we will put you in touch with interesting people from relevant backgrounds who are keen to work with you. And we can also guarantee that these new contacts will help you learn about new, technologies, funding and other developments.

And it's not all unconventional: there are talks and posters too.

DevCSI will support key developers

The DevCSI project have partnered with the Collaborations Workshop and are providing free registration and help with expenses for a number of key developers to attend the Collaborations Workshop.

More details are available on the developer support page.

No more death by powerpoint

What we discuss at the workshop depends on the interests of the workshop’s attendees. You can suggest discussion topics by email. The latest list of discussion topics is available on the breakouts page.

We use a flexible agenda: attendees suggest the topics for discussion before and during the workshop. At the workshop, we take a vote and only the most popular topics make the agenda.
Lightning talks and posters: discuss your research and your project’s needs

Any attendee can elect to present a lightning talk. It’s the perfect opportunity to advertise your work and let people know who you want to collaborate with. (There is limited time for lightning talks, so book early!) After your talk, anyone who is interested in working with you can organise time to meet with you and discuss a potential collaboration.

Alternatively, you can present a poster.

Talk with funders

Collaboration without funding is difficult. This year, we’re inviting funders from the research councils and the private sector to attend the meeting for a meet the funders session. This will give these important groups the opportunity to discuss their plans for 2011.

Engage software developers

The Collaborations Workshop was developed to meet the needs of researchers who use software. If you are in this group - or want to be - you can meet with a variety of software experts at the workshop.