Research IT Updates
Launch of Bede – a new high performance computing platform
Bede is the N8’s Power and GPU-based high-performance computing (HPC) platform run by the N8 Centre of Excellence in Computationally Intensive Research (N8 CIR). Unlike traditional x86 platforms, Bede is GPU-based and makes use of NVIDIA’s NV Link high-bandwidth interconnects to move tensor outputs between the GPU and system memory. This unique architecture is ideally suited to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applications. Bede will also be able to work with much higher resolution imagery than has previously been possible.
2021 Code Performance Series: From analysis to insight
N8 CIR is collaborating with VI-HPS, Durham University’s Department of Computer Science and DiRAC on an EPSRC-funded ExCALIBUR Knowledge Integration Activity that will help translate performance data into language that domain specialists can understand and use. The free course will be held online starting in January 2021.
Top Ten Blog Posts of 2020
As it’s approaching the end of the term, it seems like a good time to look back on our most popular blog posts of 2020. Unsurprisingly several of the top ten posts are related to working from home and the challenges that it brought!
Merry Christmas from Research IT
As with previous years Research IT will be closed for the Christmas period. This year the period is from 5pm Friday 18 December 2020, reopening on 9am Monday 4 January 2021. There will be no support available during this time for any Research IT services.
We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Research Lifecycle Programme Updates
A new survey tool for the University
The University’s Research Lifecycle Programme (RLP) is pleased to announce the launch of QualtricsXM, a powerful, simple to use survey tool used to conduct surveys, collect and store data and produce reports. Qualtrics is available to all staff and researchers at the University and is also available to students when required for their course.
The University’s Information Governance Office (IGO) recommends Qualtrics as the University’s preferred survey tool. Going forwards, Qualtrics will replace Lime Survey and Select Survey, which will become unsupported from July 2021.
Data Safe Haven Plus: A new service for researchers working with sensitive and restricted data
Many research projects make use of restricted data, for example commercially sensitive business information, medical records or crime data.
The new Data Safe Haven Plus service is here to help you understand how to securely store and work with sensitive and restricted data in research. The service has been designed with input from a wide range of researchers around the University with the aim of building a useful and usable new platform and provides new capabilities to securely and flexibly store and analyse large and small quantitative and qualitative datasets.
The Data Safe Haven Plus team can help you plan and run highly restricted data projects and understand best practices around data storage and analysis.
If you are planning a research project that requires the handling of sensitive or restricted data, speak to the team now to find out how the Data Safe Haven Plus service can help you.
Get in touch with Alber Santos, Highly Restricted Data Analyst:
New features for Microsoft Teams
Two new features are now available in our instance of Microsoft Teams that allow us to hold meetings with participants from outside our University.
- External contacts can be invited to participate in meetings via the ‘Anonymous join’ function in Teams. This is simple to use provided the invited contact receives a link to the meeting.
- Teams has also been updated to allow communication with Skype for Business users. Teams users can search for and start a one-on-one text-only conversation or an audio/video call with a Skype user, with Skype users also able to connect with Teams users in the same way.
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