On Monday 17^th  October, the MRC Biostatistics Unit (BSU) hosted an open science workshop with the aim of promoting idea-sharing, as well as networking between MRC Units and Institutes.

Over 40 delegates attended, split evenly between the East Forvie Building and online. They were treated to 14 excellent short talks on a range of topics from drilling down on data-driven approaches to big-picture work looking at establishing platforms for collaborations.

After each of the sessions, discussion groups were convened (both online and in-person) to help open communication channels between researchers who might not normally interact.

The organisers are still pouring over the details of these conversations, but it’s clear there is a lot that could be done. Feedback on the day has been distinctly positive, with one respondent describing the workshop as:

The best hybrid meeting I have experienced”

Chris Wallace (organiser) said:

It was lovely to see so much enthusiasm and innovative ideas for open science, as well as free-flowing discussion”

The session was organised by Phillip Crout and Chris Wallace with able assistance from Alison Quenault and the admin team at the MRC BSU.

If you have any questions or would like to be informed of future sessions, Phillip can be reached on phillip.crout@mrc-bsu.cam.ac.uk and would be eager to hear from you.