Blog

What does a Research Software Engineer (RSE) who uses R do? How can we promote RSE career paths? How can we identify and highlight which funders are most research software friendly? How can we increase visibility of RSEs in the R community? Could we develop a podcast on ‘meet the R-engineers’ or collaborate with an existing R podcast? What should a book “Research Software Engineering with R” contain? How do we develop an RSE for R users community?

Preparing for an Accessible Online Conference

By Joselyn Chávez in Accessibility

February 17, 2021

In 2021, any reputable conference let alone the annual conference of a community with such high standards as the R community has to be accessible. While there is little debate about the aspiration itself, it is necessary to dig into the details of what this means. What are the implications of accessibility for the presenters, organizers and infrastructure of a conference? What are the implications for a virtual conference in particular ?

Welcome Margot, the Marmot!

By The useR! 2021 Team in useR!

November 26, 2020

useR! 2021 Key Visual From MiR to R-Ladies and AfricaR, Margot got 'em all – fashionable scarfs. #RStats world, please welcome our latest addition to the team. Say hi to Margot, the Marmot. Margot is a cosmopolitan gnawer with roots around the globe. She spent the early days of her life in Northern Africa and Europe. The idea to replace the traditional pictures of locations in useR! material with an animal was first brought up by Fodil in our Slack space.

It Doesn't Just Happen

By Matt Bannert and Miljenka Vuko in Community

November 19, 2020

“Not very probable,” is what we would have said only a few years ago when asked as statisticians, about the chances that our working environment, our work and peers equate to a diverse, inclusive and remarkably social community. Still though, all of this continues to happen within a discipline that is built on focused, cerebral work and spending countless hours in front of computer screens. A Journey Through a Wonderful Community Ecosystem We thank community leaders Laura Acion, Shelmith Kariuki, Yanina Bellini Saibene, Heather Turner and GSoC scholar Ben Ubah for their input and time as well as Beatriz Milz for her help with our research.

How the useR! 2021 Team Came Together

By The UseR! 2021 Team in useR!

June 24, 2020

Almost two weeks ago, we announced that useR! 2021 will be a global, virtual conference. As a result we are working together with the R Foundation to extend our the current team to become a truly global team. Time for us to look back, look back at how we found together as a team and how useR! 2021 came together. A Protocol We created this blog to onboard you onto the journey to a global, virtual useR!