For anyone looking to take their research, networking and data-collecting skills to the next level, Research Bazaar is here to help you.
Research Bazaar is a two-day event starting on Friday, March 31, designed to teach participants of all ages and backgrounds to use effective networking methods and cutting-edge technology to gather data from multiple platforms.
This unique initiative began in Melbourne, Australia, with David F. Flanders, Research Community Manager at the University of Melbourne. Flanders had a vision to create a community of support and innovation around different research tools.
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The conference has spread worldwide but is just now arriving at the UA. Those who register for the free event will experience new ways to collect, store and interpret data through participating in workshops on the latest digital research skills. These workshops have a strong focus on community building and connecting researchers who use similar tools and methods.
According to the UA Calendar, the scheduled workshops for this conference will cover topics like R-Studio, graph databases, Storymaps, advanced git, ArcGIS, virtual reality, stream processing, drones and 3D modeling.
“Research Bazaar is about researchers teaching researchers, increasing digital literacy from the ground up and creating communities of support in the process,” said Kim Doyle, a research coordinator of Research Bazaar in Australia.
Doyle added that Research Bazaar also addresses larger, research-based issues such as loneliness, isolation, research engagement, networking and finding career paths after college graduation.
The University of Melbourne had their second Research Bazaar event last month, where students discovered common interests in research tools with people from many different disciplines.
“We gathered under bedouin-style tents in the main hall at the University of Melbourne for hands-on classes on everything from programming languages, natural language processing, CAD tools, data mining and visualization tools,” Doyle said.
Research Bazaar takes special interest in being inclusive to people of all kinds. The coordinators stress the importance of diversity and openness by welcoming participants from all different career stages, disciplines, institutions, ethnicities and gender identities.
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Doyle said the event leaves supportive spaces and communities for researchers to learn from each other, network and develop new research collaborations.
“Where Research Bazaar has become more established, it creates a layer of senior communities leaders who are equipped to conduct their own training and spread their skills through their faculty, their university and out in the real world,” Doyle said.
learn more about the conference schedule and register online at the UA News website. Saturday’s events will begin at 9 a.m. at the Science-Engineering Library.
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