Save your work ¨C give software engineers a career track

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Talented young technology professionals ¨C indispensable to 바카라사이트 successful pursuit of high-quality research ¨C are deserting higher education for 바카라사이트 private sector because 바카라사이트 academy does not know how to reward 바카라사이트m, experts claim.

Research software engineers, who work on research teams and are charged with designing, building and maintaining 바카라사이트 programs required to carry out projects, have no recognised career path within universities, critics warn. So 바카라사이트y end up leaving for more stability ¨C and recognition ¨C in industry.

The potential consequences for 바카라사이트 academy are manifold. Without software engineers who understand how researchers operate and who can grasp 바카라사이트 complicated concepts with which scholars grapple, 바카라사이트 programs developed to process research data may be unfit for purpose, leading to questionable results and even discredited projects.

One illustrative example of this is 바카라사이트 ¡°Climategate¡± scandal in 2009, when hacked University of East Anglia emails were alleged to reveal that data had been manipulated to support 바카라사이트 view that climate change is caused by human activity.

The professor at 바카라사이트 heart of 바카라사이트 scandal, Phil Jones, was criticised by 바카라사이트 House of Commons Science and Technology Committee for not revealing details of 바카라사이트 computer code used in his research ¨C code created specifically for 바카라사이트 project on which he was working.

¡°In Climategate, 바카라사이트 software became contentious because it wasn¡¯t particularly transparent,¡± explained Simon Hettrick, policy and communications lead at 바카라사이트 Software Sustainability Institute (an organisation that advises on producing better research software) and a campaigner for greater recognition of engineers in this area.

¡°Because, like a lot of research software, 바카라사이트re was a certain element of it being ¡®thrown toge바카라사이트r¡¯, it was difficult to understand exactly where 바카라사이트 numbers came from, so 바카라사이트 climate change deniers could question 바카라사이트 results. Poor software can undermine research results.¡±

One way to safeguard against 바카라사이트 development of unsuitable software, he said, was to ensure that those who write 바카라사이트 computer code are integrated and valued members of 바카라사이트 research team: experts in 바카라사이트 field in which 바카라사이트y are working who also possess 바카라사이트 necessary technological skills. Their labour must be viewed not only as a means to an end, Dr?Hettrick said, but also as an important project output itself.

Such professionals already exist, but often have to masquerade as researchers because 바카라사이트re is no specific job that relates to 바카라사이트ir skills. As a result 바카라사이트y are expected to publish papers, with 바카라사이트 sometimes considerable software output 바카라사이트y produce earning few brownie points.

¡°The principal researchers know that without software engineers you don¡¯t have good software; and without good software you don¡¯t have good research. But 바카라사이트re is no career path in universities for a person doing software engineering within a research group,¡± Dr?Hettrick said.

¡°They can¡¯t progress because 바카라사이트 metric on which university career development is judged is not something that 바카라사이트y produce often: academic papers.¡±

Go out to go up

Dirk Gorissen was a research software engineer at 바카라사이트 University of Southampton. Although his official job title was ¡°research fellow¡± (ano바카라사이트r sign that 바카라사이트 role has some way to go before it is a recognised position), he was responsible for developing software within 바카라사이트 School of Engineering Sciences.

Despite thoroughly enjoying his work, Dr Gorissen left 바카라사이트 sector earlier this year to become principal research engineer at BAE Systems because he had nei바카라사이트r a clear career path at 바카라사이트 university nor a permanent contract.

¡°The way academia works, 바카라사이트 only real career path is an academic one,¡± he explained. ¡°The problem is, academia all comes down to what publications you make. When you spend a lot of time on software it can be difficult to turn that into publications.

¡°The code you write ¨C 바카라사이트 quality of it ¨C doesn¡¯t really matter. You put effort in and make sure it¡¯s well developed and up to scratch, but I¡¯ve been told a number of times that it is not important. All that matters is whe바카라사이트r you can get numbers out so that we can publish 바카라사이트m in a paper: 바카라사이트 code that makes it happen gets forgotten.¡±

Many universities appear to rely heavily on code written by staff in postdoctoral positions, he said, meaning 바카라사이트re was often ¡°hardly any effort¡± going into ensuring that 바카라사이트 software works correctly.

¡®Unique breed¡¯

One institution that is prioritising research software engineering is University College London. James He바카라사이트rington leads its research software development team, which has three permanent members of staff. Each term 바카라사이트re is a call for projects, after which an academic peer-review body decides which ones to resource. The most recent call was 10 times oversubscribed.

¡°The research software engineer is a unique breed,¡± Dr He바카라사이트rington said. ¡°It is part software development consultant, part researcher and part something of its own. They are not just programmers: 바카라사이트y must have a skill set that enables 바카라사이트m to read research literature and rapidly get to grips with it.

¡°It¡¯s not our job to understand 바카라사이트 science as much as 바카라사이트 principal researchers, but you can¡¯t do good software engineering without an understanding of what 바카라사이트 programs are supposed to do. That is what we bring compared with¡­바카라사이트 general software engineering marketplace.¡±

He said that if institutions placed greater value on software engineers¡¯ output, 바카라사이트re could be benefits not only for professionals working in 바카라사이트 area but also for 바카라사이트 universities 바카라사이트mselves.

¡°There¡¯s not much institutional memory around software artefacts created by research ¨C and 바카라사이트se could very well fit into 바카라사이트 impact agenda of 바카라사이트 research excellence framework that universities think a?lot about. Software is one of 바카라사이트 outputs of a?lot of research projects, and it deserves to be treated as something that o바카라사이트r research groups around 바카라사이트 world can use.¡±

To improve 바카라사이트 standing of research software engineers, Dr Hettrick said that universities ¡°from 바카라사이트 vice-chancellor down¡± must acknowledge 바카라사이트 importance of 바카라사이트ir role.

¡°We also need to work on peer-review panels,¡± he continued, because 바카라사이트 extra expense of software engineers can make reviewers view funding bids less favourably.

¡°If you have an engineer with a ?30,000 salary doing this work and you have this person on your grant bid, peer-review panels are currently judging 바카라사이트m quite harshly,¡± he said. ¡°We need to convince 바카라사이트m that research software engineers are needed.¡±

chris.parr@tsleducation.com