Why care about software?

These slides: http://bit.ly/3iuHHFq

Use software

Fundamental to results

69%

92%

n=417

n=594

Software represents a significant part of research innovation

There's a lot of exciting IP involved

There's a lot of

(commercially)

unexciting IP too

But there are problems...

These slides: http://bit.ly/3iuHHFq

Lack of reliability, robustness and extensibility

n=197

"Beginner"

"Professional"

n=197

Time to change the world

(the academic world)

These slides: http://bit.ly/3iuHHFq

Research

Software

Engineering

~10,000 RSEs worldwide

Image courtesy Ian Cosden

https://society-rse.org/

~40 RSE Groups across the UK

http://bit.ly/RSEGroupsUK

I learned a lot about how universities work

Academia supports cutting edge thinking

...and deeply  conservative institutional practices

 rsg.southampton.ac.uk

+3 more!

Research software expertise on demand

• We make code reliable, robust and extensible
• Broad range of software and research skills
• Pay for expertise only when you need it
• Costed like any other position in the university
• Fully supported by UKRI and other funders
• 26 active projects and >90 completed
• ...the more advance notice, the better

Training in software engineering

• Providing the basic training in software and data engineering
• For everyone from students to Professors, from researchers to professional services
• Courses for beginners and intermediates
• Training provided directly, via CDTs/DTPs and via CHEP (staffbook)

What we teach

• Version control with Github
• Automation with Bash
• Introduction to Python and R
• Introduction to software project management
• Testing and continuous integration for reliable code
• Integrated development environments, virtual environments and code conventions
• Programming paradigms, management, architecture and design
• Developing software in a team

Some of our work

These slides: http://bit.ly/3iuHHFq

• Southampton spin-out led by Phil Wu
• Developed prototype for Carbon Action and Planning Tool which calculates ROI on ways of reducing carbon footprint and plans timeline for changes
• React front end, .NET Core backend
• Made the code scalable and robust

Absolar

• Shows relationships between clusters of gene expression in a patient in the form of a navigable 3D network graph
• Produced the MVP based on the implementation of a novel algorithm
• Developed the visualisation hosted in a scalable, Django web application

TopMD

• Southampton sprint out led by Josh Steer

• Improves the design of prosthetics by predicting pressure on limb sockets
• Productised code and developed web backend to scale presentation to consumers.

Radii devices