Research IT Updates

Writing a research grant proposal?

It’s important that your costing for Research IT resources, effort and services are correct before you submit your research grant application.  The best way to ensure this is for the researchers and Research IT to get together and to talk through your requirements.  Come along on the 25^th of Feb to find out more about our services and what we can contribute to your research grant proposal.

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Digital Image Comparison

Come along to the Research IT Club on 12 February to find out more about new online image comparison software and an accompanying website produced by Research IT.  Could this be a useful tool in your research? Come along to find out more and to find out the latest news about Research IT resources and services.

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Open Source Interaction and Data Visualisation Tool Launched

As part of the BBC Data Partnership, one of our Research Software Engineers has developed the Interaction Data Visualisation Tool, (IDVT); a web-based data visualisation tool for the initial analysis of low-level interaction data taken from object-based user experiences.

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Research Lifecycle Programme Updates

Innovation Community Research Fund Competition

The Innovation Community (IC) from the Research Lifecycle Programme are holding an innovation competition to give researchers the opportunity to kick-start their research ideas.

Do you have a collaborative research idea that uses technology? Do you need some funding to start it? Apply to the Innovation Community’s Research Fund competition to win some seed funding. The funding prize pot is £10,000, to be shared between two to four projects.  

To apply, applicants will need to submit an application form which will be peer reviewed by a cross-faculty panel. The shortlisted projects will then be invited to a showcase event on 23 April, which will be open to all researchers and staff around the University to attend. The panel will then select the successful projects to receive funding at this event. 

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University Survey Tool: Have your say 

The University is currently reviewing the need for a University-wide survey tool. When the project to review survey tools was put on hold 18 months ago, feedback was gathered to identify the most important requirements (listed below). We would greatly appreciate feedback from all staff and researchers to make sure the list is still relevant, and to add any requirements that were not captured previously. 

1. Simple to use / user friendly.
2. Allows branching.
3. Allows access on multiple devices.
4. Ability to personalise surveys.
5. Training / support readily available.
6. Ability to share survey permissions across the team.
7. Ability to select data & time to push survey automatically to different time zones.
8. Allows survey translation to provide survey in other languages.
9. Allows offline surveys.
10. Allows hosting options.
11. Allows API integration

Is there anything you would want to add to the list?  Please get in touch with beloa.mbala@manchester.ac.uk by Friday 7 February.

Providing a Databases for Research service    

The Databases for Research project aims to develop a database and data management service, which will provide a consistent way to manage, curate and share research data in a more cost effective, sustainable and secure way. This service will be particularly important in ensuring researchers are able to demonstrate a high degree of risk management to funders and will help to remove uncertainties around storage of and access to data. 

Find out more about this service and how you can get involved to help shape it. 

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Survey: Closing soon – How computing supports your research 

The aim of this survey from the Research Lifecycle Programme (RLP) is to better understand and identify existing or potential technology barriers in researchers everyday research environment, and how the University can aim to better provide supported, compliant compute infrastructure (such as data servers) that would be deployed in labs or similar locations.

This survey will close on Monday 3 February. Participants can be entered into a draw to win one of three £50 Amazon vouchers available, so if you haven’t already taken part, please ensure you do before the deadline.  

Survey – How computing supports your research

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