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Posted to dev@rave.apache.org by Ross Gardler <ro...@oucs.ox.ac.uk> on 2012/01/30 15:19:54 UTC

Fwd: FW: Researchers get practical help with online collaboration

SURF has just released a VRE Starter Kit (see below). Within it it
lists some technologies people ought to be interested in. I suggest
that this project out to be in there, especially given that SURFNet
staff are engaged with this project. See
http://wiki.surffoundation.nl/display/VRE/Platforms

Ross

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Christopher Brown <c....@jisc.ac.uk>
Date: 30 January 2012 13:36
Subject: FW: Researchers get practical help with online collaboration
To: JISC-ERESEARCH@jiscmail.ac.uk


** Apologies for any cross-posting **

Many of you will be interested in SURF Foundation’s launch of their
VRE Starters Kit.



Regards,



Chris



Christopher Brown

e-Research Programme Manager

email: c.brown@jisc.ac.uk

direct: 020 3006 6072

mobile: 07891 501177

Twitter: chriscb

Skype: chriscbrown



Van: Kuil, van der Annemiek
Verzonden: vrijdag 27 januari 2012 11:05
Onderwerp: Researchers get practical help with online collaboration



Researchers get practical help with online collaboration

VRE Starters Kit: the starting point for setting up a “Virtual
Research Environment”



Utrecht – 27 January 2012 – Years of experience at various
universities with online collaboration environments (‘Virtual Research
Environments’, VREs) has now been combined in the VRE Starters Kit.
The Kit helps researchers and support staff to select a virtual
research environment, get it up and running, and make use of it.
Experience from various SURFshare projects and a number of local
projects has been combined in the Starters Kit. The Kit enables higher
education institutions to improve the service they provide for
researchers.



VRE Starters Kit

The material in the VRE Starters Kit is intended primarily for the
support staff who assist researchers. Among its features is an
overview of the functions required for online collaboration. An
interview protocol allows the support staffer to ask the researcher
the right questions so as to determine how he/she wants to
collaborate. There is also a manual for organising, setting up and
managing a VRE for researchers, and ensuring that it is secure.



Experience so far

A number of Dutch universities have gained experience in recent years
with Virtual Research Environments (VREs). University libraries
provide support for researchers to collaborate by means of such
environments. Experience so far shows, however, that implementing
systems of this kind and providing practical support for researchers
costs both time and money. Careful thought needs to be given to how a
VRE is set up. It is not only the choice of platform that needs to be
considered but also many other aspects, for example administration of
rights, consensus on document filing, addition of metadata, version
management, etc.



Showcase at Maastricht University
Maastricht University has tested the effectiveness of the VRE Starters
Kit for setting up a virtual research environment for researchers.
Just a year ago, at the beginning of 2011, the university provided
hardly any services in the area of VREs.



Staff at the university have indicated that the Collaboration VREs
project (funded by SURF) has been extremely valuable in developing
their VRE programme. They have been able to set up a VRE – without any
complex problems – that provides the most relevant functions required
by researchers. In particular, the documentation that was available
meant that the VRE could be organised quickly. Researchers at
Maastricht University now have an online collaboration service via the
university library.



The university presented the service to researchers in December 2011.
Assistant Professor Anke Sambeth said afterwards “I’m really
enthusiastic about it. I work together with a group of other people
and a VRE will be really useful. When we write a grant application, we
quickly end up with eighteen different versions. Without a system of
version management, that leads to confusion and makes even more
consultation necessary via Skype. We currently assemble supplementary
information on a separate website, but that could all be placed within
the VRE. If we actually get the grant, then the group of collaborators
will increase in size to 30 or 40 people. Then it will be really
useful to have a VRE.”



About SURFshare
SURFshare’s aim is to open up a wide range of possibilities for
finding, creating, distributing, and publishing research results. That
is possible because ICT not only speeds up standard communication
processes but also changes the nature of the research cycle itself.
SURFfoundation’s intention with the SURFshare programme is to create a
common infrastructure that will facilitate access to research
information and make it possible for researchers to share that
information.


The above message is also available on the SURFfoundation website.



Kind regards,

Annemiek van der Kuil

Annemiek van der Kuil | community manager ICT & Research |
SURFfoundation | Graadt van Roggenweg 340 | P.O.Box 2290 | 3500 GG
Utrecht | T + 31 30 234 66 42 | E vanderkuil@surf.nl W
www.surffoundation.nl/SURFshare

RE: FW: Researchers get practical help with online collaboration

Posted by Martin Steinmann <ma...@ezuce.com>.
Ross

 

This is a nice list.  What seems to be missing is a real-time comms solution
(voice, video, presence, IM, conferencing):  http://www.sipfoundry.org would
be a good fit.  This is used already by a lot of universities elsewhere.

--martin

 

 

From: Ross Gardler [mailto:ross.gardler@oucs.ox.ac.uk] 
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2012 9:20 AM
To: rave-dev@incubator.apache.org
Subject: Fwd: FW: Researchers get practical help with online collaboration

 

SURF has just released a VRE Starter Kit (see below). Within it it
lists some technologies people ought to be interested in. I suggest
that this project out to be in there, especially given that SURFNet
staff are engaged with this project. See
http://wiki.surffoundation.nl/display/VRE/Platforms

Ross

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Christopher Brown <c....@jisc.ac.uk>
Date: 30 January 2012 13:36
Subject: FW: Researchers get practical help with online collaboration
To: JISC-ERESEARCH@jiscmail.ac.uk


** Apologies for any cross-posting **

Many of you will be interested in SURF Foundation's launch of their
VRE Starters Kit.



Regards,



Chris



Christopher Brown

e-Research Programme Manager

email: c.brown@jisc.ac.uk

direct:
<file:///C:\Program%20Files%20(x86)\eZuce\openUC%20Outlook%20Add-in\StatusIm
ages\phone.png> 020 3006 6072 <tel:020%203006%206072> 

mobile:
<file:///C:\Program%20Files%20(x86)\eZuce\openUC%20Outlook%20Add-in\StatusIm
ages\phone.png> 07891 501177 <tel:07891%20501177> 

Twitter: chriscb

Skype: chriscbrown



Van: Kuil, van der Annemiek
Verzonden: vrijdag 27 januari 2012 11:05
Onderwerp: Researchers get practical help with online collaboration



Researchers get practical help with online collaboration

VRE Starters Kit: the starting point for setting up a "Virtual
Research Environment"



Utrecht - 27 January 2012 - Years of experience at various
universities with online collaboration environments ('Virtual Research
Environments', VREs) has now been combined in the VRE Starters Kit.
The Kit helps researchers and support staff to select a virtual
research environment, get it up and running, and make use of it.
Experience from various SURFshare projects and a number of local
projects has been combined in the Starters Kit. The Kit enables higher
education institutions to improve the service they provide for
researchers.



VRE Starters Kit

The material in the VRE Starters Kit is intended primarily for the
support staff who assist researchers. Among its features is an
overview of the functions required for online collaboration. An
interview protocol allows the support staffer to ask the researcher
the right questions so as to determine how he/she wants to
collaborate. There is also a manual for organising, setting up and
managing a VRE for researchers, and ensuring that it is secure.



Experience so far

A number of Dutch universities have gained experience in recent years
with Virtual Research Environments (VREs). University libraries
provide support for researchers to collaborate by means of such
environments. Experience so far shows, however, that implementing
systems of this kind and providing practical support for researchers
costs both time and money. Careful thought needs to be given to how a
VRE is set up. It is not only the choice of platform that needs to be
considered but also many other aspects, for example administration of
rights, consensus on document filing, addition of metadata, version
management, etc.



Showcase at Maastricht University
Maastricht University has tested the effectiveness of the VRE Starters
Kit for setting up a virtual research environment for researchers.
Just a year ago, at the beginning of 2011, the university provided
hardly any services in the area of VREs.



Staff at the university have indicated that the Collaboration VREs
project (funded by SURF) has been extremely valuable in developing
their VRE programme. They have been able to set up a VRE - without any
complex problems - that provides the most relevant functions required
by researchers. In particular, the documentation that was available
meant that the VRE could be organised quickly. Researchers at
Maastricht University now have an online collaboration service via the
university library.



The university presented the service to researchers in December 2011.
Assistant Professor Anke Sambeth said afterwards "I'm really
enthusiastic about it. I work together with a group of other people
and a VRE will be really useful. When we write a grant application, we
quickly end up with eighteen different versions. Without a system of
version management, that leads to confusion and makes even more
consultation necessary via Skype. We currently assemble supplementary
information on a separate website, but that could all be placed within
the VRE. If we actually get the grant, then the group of collaborators
will increase in size to 30 or 40 people. Then it will be really
useful to have a VRE."



About SURFshare
SURFshare's aim is to open up a wide range of possibilities for
finding, creating, distributing, and publishing research results. That
is possible because ICT not only speeds up standard communication
processes but also changes the nature of the research cycle itself.
SURFfoundation's intention with the SURFshare programme is to create a
common infrastructure that will facilitate access to research
information and make it possible for researchers to share that
information.


The above message is also available on the SURFfoundation website.



Kind regards,

Annemiek van der Kuil

Annemiek van der Kuil | community manager ICT & Research |
SURFfoundation | Graadt van Roggenweg 340 | P.O.Box 2290 | 3500 GG
Utrecht | T + 31 30 234 66 42 | E vanderkuil@surf.nl W
www.surffoundation.nl/SURFshare