What we do

We support UU researchers of all domains in various stages of their research: from social sciences to natural sciences, from students to professors, from planning to execution.

Our core activities are:

• developing sustainable and robust research software;
• promoting software best practices in research;
• building a research software community at Utrecht University.

We can help you with, for example:

• defining technical implementation of your research plan or grant proposal;
• assessing technical feasability of your research method;
• finding the appropiate digital technology for your research;
• developing FAIR research software to answer your research question;
• setting up a data processing pipeline;
• selecting and using High Performance and Cloud computing facilities;
• connecting to potential knowledge partners

How we work

We provide consultancy and engineering in research projects in various formats:

• Consultancy in your project is always possible. Typically, consultancy consists of one or two meetings where we discuss your project and offer technical advice free of charge.
• We also offer short-term engineering support as a free service. During a period of a few months, you will work together and have regular meetings with two or three Research Engineers, with the aim of developing a proof-of-concept or exploring a new method for your research.
• Long-term support is possible and can be tailored to your project, provided that funding is available for our services. We can also help you write the technical aspect of your grant proposal, in which our support is included.

We believe that collaboration leads to better science and more impact. We work collaboratively and iteratively, since we depend on the researcher’s domain expertise to steer the project. Furthermore, a close collaboration enables researchers to build digital skills and thereby empowering them in their work. We therefore expect researchers to be committed to regular meetings for the duration of the project. With our knowledge of technology and methodology, we make valuable contributions to scientific projects. Our engineers regularly co-author scientific papers, presentations and proposals.

Due to our limited capacity, support in your project cannot be guaranteed. Our aim is to help researchers throughout Utrecht University and to keep innovating as a team, so we select our projects accordingly. We give priority to projects that align with the Utrecht University mission and vision to work towards a better world through Open Science.

This flowchart shows how we handle a request for support: