Research Computing Centre

Meetups

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Hacky Hour UQ  

RCC supports Hacky Hour UQ, which is currently being held online. Hacky Hour is a weekly meetup, held Tuesdays, 3pm–4pm (AEST), for UQ researchers to ask research-related technical issues to do with: 

  • High-performance computing 

  • cloud computing 

  • virtual machines 

  • data storage 

  • data security 

  • data cleanup 

  • automated workflows 

  • data pipelines 

  • virtual desktops 

  • Python 

  • R 

  • Linux 

  • Software and Data Carpentry 

  • Bioinformatics. 

Experts from RCC and QCIF will attend Hacky Hour to answer your questions, and researchers can also help each other. All UQ researchers are welcome to attend. 

When: Hacky Hour UQ occurs each Tuesday, 3pm–4pm (AEST). Occasionally, it is cancelled if no RCC and QCIF experts are available that day.  

Where: Hacky Hour will be held via Zoom video conference. For Zoom meeting details please email rcc-support@uq.edu.au.  

Any questions? Email rcc-support@uq.edu.au. 

 
UQ vHPC (Virtual HPC User Support) 

When: Thursdays, 9:30am–10:30am (AEST)  

Where: Online via Zoom: 535-415-695; https://uqz.zoom.us/j/535415695 

At vHPC, we will focus primarily on HPC access, usage and workflows with a smattering of the other topics that makes Hacky Hour the success that it is. 

Please note vHPC does not have the wide scope of expertise that is available at the Hacky Hour UQ meetups, which also includes coding and bioinformatics experts. 

 

UQ R Users Group (UQRUG) meetings 

The R statistical programming language is very popular amongst research computing users at UQ. 

A user group for those working with R was launched at UQ in January 2020.  

The UQ R User Group seeks to bring this community together to share ideas and provide a collaborative, problem-solving space for new and experienced users. 

The group meets on the last Wednesday of each month from 12pm–2pm (AEST). 

The meetings are currently being held online.  

Check the UQRUG webpage and the UQ Library Digital Researcher Lab resources page for more information. 

This initiative is supported by the UQ Library and the R-Ladies Brisbane Chapter. 
 

Tips for using Zoom for Meetups and Training 

A critical component of any video conference is the audio. To avoid problems for all participants, please ensure that you: 

  • use a headset (earbuds, or something more substantial), or an echo-cancelling speaker/microphone device, and that you 

  • ensure that Zoom is configured to use that audio device for both microphone and speaker functions 

  • if you are in a noisy environment keep your microphone muted except when you speak. Zoom has a hot key combination for mute/unmute. 

Whether working from home, or at work: 

  • be conscious of visual distractions in the background (e.g., colleagues, family members or pets walking past) 

  • try to avoid having strong lighting behind you, which makes you a silhouette (e.g., overhead lights, unshaded windows) 

  • often the glow from your laptop screen or monitor is sufficient front illumination 

if your network bandwidth is constrained, consider stopping your video and featuring a still photo instead.