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We are a team of research data and academic specialists enabling data-intensive and collaborative research across UoM
We work with researchers at all stages of the research lifecycle, from research design and data collection, all the way through to analysis, visualisation, and interpretation. With a broad range of backgrounds and experiences, we are uniquely placed to make the most of all the benefits that interdisciplinary research can offer!
We have several ways to help researchers with data and computational needs, from quick questions and short and informal consultations to 9-month formal collaborations and internal secondments. Engage with us.
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter
We hold technical expertise in:
- Research study design
- Data management
- Data stewardship
- Data collection methods
- Web development
- HPC and cloud computing
- Digital infrastructure
- Data analysis
- Machine learning
- Data visualisation
- Image and video processing
- Virtual/augmented reality
- Natural language processing
- Artificial intelligence
… and much more!
Latest news and events
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Digital skills workshops for HASS researchers
Data Visualisation for Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Tue 14 March 1pm – 5pm The Lab, 2nd floor, Digital Studio, Arts West Free, register now Master the art of data visualisation and unlock the power of your data! Our expert instructors will teach you how to create stunning visuals that communicate your research data. Learn the principles of colour theory, how to spot bad …
March 7, 2023 News -
We’re Hiring! Research Data Specialist & Research Data Specialist – Web Developer
We have two positions open to work with the awesome team here at MDAP! Research Data Specialist Work closely with researchers to collaborate on data-intensive research projects and a contribute to the community of practice for data-driven research at The University of Melbourne. Apply now Applications close: Wednesday 15th February 2023 11:55 PM AEDT Research Data Specialist - Web Developer Work closely with researchers to design …
January 31, 2023 News -
SURVEY: Digital humanities, arts, and social sciences training and support
MDAP and Digital Studio’s new HASS Taskforce is here to help researchers bridge the gap between learning basic or single-tool digital skills and having the knowledge to develop high-quality research proposals using digital HASS methods. Help us help you! Take this quick survey and tell us what you want and need in this space. Open to all UoM students and academics. Take …
January 19, 2023 News -
Seminar: Building secure solutions for health data needs
Tuesday 29 November 12pm – 1pm Hybrid event: In person at Melbourne Connect and online via Zoom Talk includes a 30 minute interactive presentation followed by open discussion, informal networking and a light lunch. Register now Please choose the correct ticket type when registering. About the seminar Working with health data can be an arduous process. There are specific infrastructure requirements as well as numerous governance and …
November 22, 2022 News
- Digital skills training
Take advantage of free workshops and community events to build your digital research skills including coding, 3D printing, managing image collections and visualising data sets.
Learn more - Current collaborations
Want to know what our data specialists are working on? Browse current and past projects and collaborations at MDAP.
Explore - Melbourne Coder Network
If you need some code written and have a good idea of what you need, try the Melbourne Coder Network. Connect with coders across the University, including software developers, web designers, data analysts and visualisation experts.
Learn more
Have a question?
Not what you are looking for? Try the Research Helpline: +61 3 834 40999
MDAP is enabled by the University’s Petascale Campus.
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Associate Professor Nic Geard
Director
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Amanda Belton
Data Scientist
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Jean Dinco
Research Data Specialist (HASS teaching)
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Kim Doyle
Research Data Specialist
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Dr Noel Faux
Senior Research Data Specialist
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Dr Emily Fitzgerald
Research Data Specialist
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Dr Jonathan Garber
Research Data Specialist
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Dr Jair Garcia
Research Data Specialist (HASS teaching)
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Zaher Joukhadar
Research Data Specialist
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Meirian Lovelace-Tozer
Digital Skills Trainer
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Kabir Manadhar Shrestha
Research Data Specialist
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Jeremy Metha
Digital Skills Trainer
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Dr Aleks Michalewicz
Research Data Specialist
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Dr Mel Mistica
Research Data Specialist
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Dr Simon Mutch
Senior Research Data Specialist
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Usha Nattala
Research Data Specialist
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Priyanka Pillai
Research Data Specialist
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Dr Mar Quiroga
Research Data Specialist
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Dr Daniel Russo-Batterham
Research Data Specialist
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Alex Shermon
Digital Skills Trainer
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Dr Andrew Siebel
Platform Manager
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Dr Kristal Spreadborough
Research Data Specialist
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Dr Edoardo Tescari
Senior Research Data Specialist
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Karen Thompson
Senior Research Data Specialist
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Dr Robert Turnbull
Research Data Specialist
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Geordie Zhang
Research Data Specialist
We encourage researchers across the University to engage with us at any stage of their research project through one or more of the following engagement avenues and funding arrangements.
Research collaborations
Research projects lasting at least 3 months with full or part-time commitment from the MDAP team. There are two main ways to work with us here.
Faculty supported collaborations
Annual competitive round opens in September for collaborations to start the following year.
Researcher funded engagements
MDAP staff can be engaged on a salary cost-recovery secondment model, or a team of data specialists can be engaged at Academic Level C1 rates.
Researcher-funded engagements FAQs
For more information, read the FAQs then get in touch via the form below.
Quick consultations, advice and short projects
Working effectively with data can be complex, and it’s easy to get stuck. We offer consultancy, expert advice, advocacy and involvement in shorter term research projects – whether you are planning a new project, deep within it, or wrapping up.
Depending on requirements and availability, we can provide hands-on assistance with small parts of your data-intensive project, either for free or at cost-recovery rates.
Faculty supported
Depending on capacity and capability, we can either help or redirect you to someone who can, including the Melbourne Coder Network.
Researcher funded
If you have research funding, you could consider paying for an engagement at cost-recovery rates (see above).
More about engagement types
Research collaborations
A significant fraction of MDAP is devoted to faculty-funded research collaborations. Once a year we run an open, merit-based based allocation scheme. Researchers can engage with us for 3 to 9 months with costs covered by their faculty.
For more info, watch our Introduction to Collaborations video or visit Faculty Supported Collaborations FAQs.
Researcher-funded engagements
We are available year-round to work with you on researcher-funded projects. There’s two main ways to do this:
- You can engage individual MDAP staff through secondments, charged at a salary cost-recovery rate.
- MDAP can assemble a multi-disciplinary team of data specialists to collaborate on any research topic, charged at Academic Level C1 rates.
There are no set limits on the timing or length of funded engagements, subject to staff availability.
For more information visit Researcher-funded Engagements FAQs.
And…
If we don’t have the expertise on hand, we can redirect to other individuals, groups and services across the University who may be able to help. For example the Melbourne Centre for Data Science, Research Computing Services, Digital Skills Training and the Melbourne Coder Network.
2022 Collaborations
- Unlocking diverse herbarium specimen associated data to accelerate biodiversity and evolutionary research
This collaboration will increase access to herbarium-derived biodiversity data by creating tools to capture, analyse, and share herbarium specimen associated data.
Biodiversity data, such as those that accompany museum and herbarium specimens, comprise a massive global data resource. This data can be used for rapid biodiversity analyses and to inform conservation and policy decision making. To do this it needs to be accessible within an integrated biodiversity infrastructure, that retains links among spatial, trait, and evolutionary data for taxa.
This project will provide tools to support efficient mobilisation of high-quality specimen associated primary (e.g. taxon, location) and secondary (e.g. molecular) biodiversity data. It will generate a pipeline for collation and phylogenetic analyses of molecular data generated by University of Melbourne researchers and students. It will also create an online phylogenetic browser to enable exploration of native Australian plant and algal evolutionary trees. This will be hosted on the University of Melbourne Herbarium Collection Online for access by students, researchers, and the global public.
Chief Investigator: Jo Birch, School of Biosciences, Faculty of Science
MDAP Collaboration Leads: Robert Turnbull and Karen Thompson
Collaborators: MDAP, the Faculty of Science, and Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria
- Screening whole genome sequencing datasets for the Eukaryome of globally distributed kelp species
This collaboration aims to screen whole genome sequencing datasets of globally distributed kelp species for host-associated eukaryotic taxa, filling a considerable gap in kelp holobiome biology.
Bacterial diversity of seaweed microbiomes has received considerable attention over the years. But far less is known about their eukaryotic component such as algae, fungi, and animals living in/on organisms – collectively called the Eukaryome. We need new diagnostic frameworks for characterising eukaryotic microbial diversity. This will allow us to meet increasing industry demands for certified seaweed products, and better understand ecologically significant kelp forest communities.
The collaboration will help establish a robust workflow for future genomic analyses of entire microbial communities. It will employ state-of-the art machine learning algorithms to classify sequences and enhance knowledge about kelp holobiomes.
Chief Investigator: Trevor Bringloe, School of Biosciences, Faculty of Science
MDAP Collaboration Lead: Noel Faux
Collaborators: MDAP, CSIRO, Sungkyunkwan University (South Korea), the Athlone Institute of Technology (Ireland), the National University of Ireland Galway, and the University of Victoria (Canada)
- Infectious disease genomics: from database to phylodynamics
The ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has seen an unprecedented amount of genome data generated, with over 2 million complete genomes in the GISAID platform. These data have been pivotal to track the evolution of the virus on a global scale and to detect mutations of epidemiological importance, such as those in variants of concern.
Many important biological questions could be addressed with these data. However, there can be issues assessing data quality and suitability. The main limitation in accessing sequence data from public databases is that many genomes have substantial stretches of missing data and are thus not sufficiently reliable to infer mutational events. Others can lack important metadata, such as travel history or vaccination status.
This project has two key aims:
- Develop a system where one can select thousands of sequences that meet certain criteria for quality control or the presence of metadata that are fit-for-purpose for epidemiological questions
- Develop tools to specify Bayesian hierarchical models in an intuitive format that will use the above fit-for-purpose data.
Chief Investigator: Sebastian Duchene, Melbourne School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences
MDAP Collaboration Leads: Simon Mutch & Priyanka Pillai
- FATCAT: a focused pipeline to assess functional changes in coral-associated bacterial communities
This project will develop a Functional Annotation Tool for Coral-Associated bacterial Taxa (FATCAT) to better predict coral-associated bacterial functional profiles. FATCAT will expand beyond traditional GTDB and NCBI databases with the addition of coral-associated bacterial genomes.
There have been encouraging examples in the literature of efforts to make environment-specific databases. For example: CowPI, a functional inference tool specific to the rumen microbiome, and FAPROTAX, designed to assess microbial communities from aquatic samples.
We plan to update FATCAT in sync with the release of new coral-associated bacterial genomes. This will make FATCAT the standard to accurately predict bacterial functions from 16S rRNA gene based coral microbiome studies.
Chief Investigator: Ashley Dungan, School of Biosciences, Faculty of Science
MDAP Collaboration Lead: Bobbie Shaban
- Machine learning and patterns of primary care utilisation in cancer diagnosis and outcomes
This project seeks to apply novel analytical and machine learning methods to the large-scale linked data sources. This will generate new hypotheses and further characterise how people with cancer engage with primary care services.
The project aims to identify patterns in various aspects of primary cancer attendances prior to a definitive cancer diagnosis. These could include:
- prescribing
- test requests and results
- semi-coded fields such as ‘reason for encounter’
- co-morbidities or other conditions captured in primary care management systems.
The project will identify a specific cancer type (i.e. Upper Gastrointestinal) with sufficient linkages between hospital diagnosis and primary care data. It will also apply tools and algorithms to detect patterns present within specific timeframes of diagnosis or treatment.
Chief Investigator: Jon Emery, Centre for Cancer Research, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences
MDAP Collaboration Lead: Zaher Joukhadar
- Artificial intelligence-based image enhancement and segmentation
This project aims to convert low-resolution CT images of large samples to super-resolution by using artificial intelligence (AI)-based image processing algorithms. AI algorithms are supposed to be used to split connected particles in CT images. Then, the particle volume, particle surface area and interparticle contact areas will be computed from the enhanced super-resolution CT images. The values will be compared with their counterparts derived from the low-resolution CT images before enhancement.
Chief Investigator: Wenbin Fei, School of Electrical, Mechanical and Infrastructure Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
MDAP Collaboration Lead: Jonathan Garber
- Pipeline for the refinement of predicted protein structures and evaluation of their accuracy
Most 3D crystal structures for proteins of eukaryotes come from human and model organisms such as mouse, fruit fly and yeast. Until recently, there has been no method to acquire 3D protein structure for other organism such as parasitic worms and other pathogens.
The program AlphaFold, developed by DeepMind and published in July 2021, is about to "close the gap" between the quality of predicted proteins structure to those acquired from crystal structures. However, despite the progress, many predicted protein structures do not exhibit sufficient accuracy for applications such as drug design. To address this we need to refine structures using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations.
This project will develop a software pipeline for the refinement of predicted protein structures and the evaluation of their accuracy.
Chief Investigator: Robin B. Gasser, Melbourne Veterinary School (Graduate School), Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences
MDAP Collaboration Leads: Bobbie Shaban & Edoardo Tescari
The project is supported by Australian Research Council Linkage Project (LP180101085) – ‘Illuminating genomic dark matter to develop new interventions for parasites’
- Tracking changes in conservative political rhetoric over time
This project seeks to develop tools to investigate changes in liberal and conservative political rhetoric in Australia over time. Researchers and the public will be able to undertake their own temporal and linguistic analysis using unique primary sources, such as raw text files, transcriptions, and pdf images.
The collaborative project will also develop online natural language analysis tools, using Python, that will make visualisation of the data possible via an online interface. This project is designed to be scalable, allowing for the input of more primary sources in the future. This will enable the University to partner with cultural institutions such as the National Library of Australia. The tools will be used in the Faculty of Arts for teaching purposes. For example, embedding analytics and research data management exercises in selected subjects. It will also provide an ongoing resource for postgraduate and early career researchers.
Chief Investigator: David Goodman, Digital Studio, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, Faculty of Arts
MDAP Collaboration Lead: Mel Mistica
- Using the capability of deep learning to explore the predictive power of 180,000 eye images for dementia outcomes
This project will examine the ability of non-invasive eye imaging to predict dementia-related outcomes, cognitive tests and structural changes in MRI images. To do this we will use the 180,000 eye images in UK Biobank, one of the world’s largest eye-imaging studies.
In contrast with the existing literature, we will use deep learning methodologies to improve the ability to extract information from structural eye imaging. We will focus on prediction of a range of cognition outcomes, reflecting real world usage. The UK Biobank also contains brain MRI imaging. We can use this to explore the ability of structural changes in the eye to predict structural changes in the brain.
Chief Investigator: Benjamin Goudey, School of Computing and Information Systems, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
MDAP Collaboration Leads: Daniel Russo-Batterham & Zaher Joukhadar
- Designing and Implementing an Interactive Data Platform for the Monitoring and Evaluating Climate Communication and Education (MECCE) Project
The MECCE Project is a global collaboration of more than 80 leading researchers and agencies, including UNESCO, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the International Panel on Climate Change. It aims to increase the quality and quantity of climate communication and education to advance global climate literacy and action.
This collaboration will support the design and implementation of an open-source Interactive Data Platform (IDP), a key component of the MECCE Project research impact strategy. The IDP will act as a digital interface for datasets and research arising from the MECCE Project. The contributions from MDAP will include IDP scoping, design, development and release, and strategic planning to ensure the IDP has a long-term impact.
Chief Investigator: Marcia McKenzie, Social Transformations of Education, Melbourne Graduate School of Education
MDAP Collaboration Lead: Geordie Zhang
- Improving outcomes for people with complex mental health issues: insights from SANE Australia’s online and phone services
SANE Australia runs a phone and online counselling service that provides peer support, counselling, support, information, and referrals. The service is used by adults who identify as having a complex mental health issue, complex trauma or high levels of psychological distress, as well as the family or friends who support them.
SANE has 12 months of data related to these calls. These data include details of calls as well as some details of call content. We will work with SANE to apply data analysis techniques to understand how people with complex mental health issues interact with SANE, and how SANE might better meet their needs.
Chief Investigator: Nicola Reavley, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry & Health Sciences
MDAP Collaboration Lead: Aleks Michalewicz
- Fit for Students … Using Canvas data to tailor disciplinary eLearning approaches
How can discipline-specific pedagogies be translated to eLearning platforms? This collaboration uses topic modelling and sentiment analysis of Canvas data to identify key approaches to teaching and learning practices across multiple disciplines.
Subject data will be contextualised using University handbook entries and related to student experiences via end of subject survey responses. Built Environments Learning + Teaching (BEL+T) ‘s Delivery, Interaction and Assessment (DIA) model will provide a framework for analysis, and findings will be tested with subject coordinators. Data-based heat maps will offer visual summaries of eLearning activity and inform refinements to teaching practices.
This project will offer the University and academics an overview of Canvas use in different disciplines. It will also provide a foundation for live feedback tools to inform improvements to online learning practices.
Chief Investigator: Kate Tregloan, Built Environment Learning and Teaching, Architecture, Building and Planning
MDAP Collaboration Leads: Kristal Spreadborough & Amanda Belton
- Caring for data now and for the future: Indigenous artistic cultural heritage data management, curation for access, and sustainability
The Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts and Cultural Development and Research Unit for Indigenous Arts and Cultures (RUIAC) hold several collections of data, including video, audio, photographs, and text-based documentation.
In common with many Indigenous cultural, arts, and language centres across the globe, Wilin/RUIAC faces challenges to ensure:
- That this cultural heritage data is accessible in an appropriate form to current and future generations of cultural custodians, and to researchers
- New knowledge generated by research use and community use is linked to and enriches source records.
These collections record and describe tangible and intangible cultural heritage created and performed by visiting Indigenous artists and artist-researchers at artistic research events at the Boonwurrung/Southbank campus of UoM.
This project addresses the complex question: How can rich, living, cultural heritage data be preserved and managed in a university environment in a way that:
- supports cultural vitality
- protects IP, ICIP, moral rights, and copyrights of creators and communities
- supports new community and research use?
Chief Investigator: Sally Treloyn and Tiriki Onus, Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts and Cultural Development, Faculty of Fine Arts and Music
MDAP Collaboration Lead: Emily Fitzgerald
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Previous collaborations
If you would like to view our previous collaborations, please step this way.
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Digital skills workshops for HASS researchers
Data Visualisation for Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Tue 14 March 1pm – 5pm The Lab, 2nd floor, Digital Studio, Arts West Free, register now Master the art of data visualisation and unlock the power of your data! Our expert instructors will teach you how to create stunning visuals that communicate your research data. Learn the principles of colour theory, how to spot bad …
March 7, 2023 -
We’re Hiring! Research Data Specialist & Research Data Specialist – Web Developer
We have two positions open to work with the awesome team here at MDAP! Research Data Specialist Work closely with researchers to collaborate on data-intensive research projects and a contribute to the community of practice for data-driven research at The University of Melbourne. Apply now Applications close: Wednesday 15th February 2023 11:55 PM AEDT Research Data Specialist - Web Developer Work closely with researchers to design …
January 31, 2023 -
SURVEY: Digital humanities, arts, and social sciences training and support
MDAP and Digital Studio’s new HASS Taskforce is here to help researchers bridge the gap between learning basic or single-tool digital skills and having the knowledge to develop high-quality research proposals using digital HASS methods. Help us help you! Take this quick survey and tell us what you want and need in this space. Open to all UoM students and academics. Take …
January 19, 2023 -
Seminar: Building secure solutions for health data needs
Tuesday 29 November 12pm – 1pm Hybrid event: In person at Melbourne Connect and online via Zoom Talk includes a 30 minute interactive presentation followed by open discussion, informal networking and a light lunch. Register now Please choose the correct ticket type when registering. About the seminar Working with health data can be an arduous process. There are specific infrastructure requirements as well as numerous governance and …
November 22, 2022 -
November Panel Series: Novel approaches to tackling complex data
Details Wednesday 9 November, 11am to 12.30pm This is a hybrid event: In person at the Manhari Room at Melbourne Connect - for those attending in person, the panel will be followed by lunch and informal networking. Online via Zoom. The Zoom link will be provided after registration. Please choose the correct ticket type when registering! Register now Panel overview As the volume of data collected …
October 18, 2022 -
October Seminar: Meet Nic Geard our new director!
Thursday 6 October 1pm – 2pm Online via Zoom Register now Once you register, remember to add the invite to your calendar. About the seminar Nic will talk about his experiences working in data-intensive research as well as an overview about what's on the horizon for MDAP, including: Pathways to interdisciplinary research Computational models as tools for generating actionable insight from data Examples from the COVID-19 …
September 7, 2022 -
MDAP 2023 Collaborations EOIs open + register for an info session
We’re looking to help researchers explore innovative, tailored and/or end-to-end approaches to their data intensive or data informed research. Collaborations can include data stewardship, wrangling, analysis, visualisation, access and much more. You may work in archeology, biosciences or economics. Your technical knowledge may be beginner, intermediate or advanced, and your idea may be challenging – but we want to hear from …
August 31, 2022 -
MDAP Collaborations EOIs: Faculty info sessions
MDAP 2023 Collaborations EOIs open on 1 September. In the lead up we are running faculty-specific info sessions for researchers. We will go over general Collaborations info, the EOI process, a couple of short case studies from your faculties, and then an informal Q and A. Full EOI details, as well as dates of general info sessions, will be released on our …
August 19, 2022 -
August Seminar: with Dr Stephen Giugni Director Research Computing Services (RCS)
Wednesday 24 August 12.30pm – 1.30pm Online via Zoom Register now Once you register, remember to add the invite to your calendar. About the seminar Research Computing Services (RCS) provides large scale computing and data storage infrastructure for researchers, and expert support in using it. Join us as we hear from Dr Stephen Giugni about what's been happening at RCS so far in 2022, such as the …
August 3, 2022 -
We’re Hiring! Research Data Specialist (HASS teaching focus) x 2
Interested in programming and other digital skills, knowledge sharing, and humanities and social sciences research? Join us at MDAP and let's have fun while making a real impact! About the roles Location: ParkvilleRole type: Part time (0.4 FTE); Fixed term for 12 monthsSalary: Academic Level A – $77,171 - $104,717 p.a. (pro rata for part-time) plus 17% super You will work closely with …
July 6, 2022 -
July Panel Series: Data governance for complex data ecosystems
Details Wednesday 13 July, 11am to 12.30pm This is a hybrid event: In person at the Manhari Room at Melbourne Connect - for those attending in person, the panel will be followed by lunch and informal networking. Online via Zoom. The Zoom link will be provided after registration. Please choose the correct ticket type when registering! Register now Panel overview This cross-disciplinary panel will consider current …
June 20, 2022 -
MDAP in search of a new Director!
Professor Andrew Turpin is moving on to westerly pastures, as Chair of Ophthalmic Data, Lions Eye Institute. This means MDAP is seeking a new Director. About the role Location: Parkville Role type: Part-time (0.4 - 0.5 FTE negotiable); Fixed-term (secondment opportunity) until December 2023 with possibility for extension Salary: As per current Level D or E Academic Specialist salary (pro rata) plus 17% super The …
June 8, 2022 -
MDAP May Newsletter
The MDAP May Newsletter is out and available to view on your browser. This issue includes: June MDAP Seminar MDAP is seeking a new director (internal UoM applicants) Interns update and EOI for semester 2 Save the date for our July Panel Series News, events and opportunities from our CoP including CAIDE, MCDS and HADES Digital skills training Melbourne Coder Network …
May 30, 2022 -
June Seminar: Models of Support for Digital HASS Researchers at UoM
Tuesday 14 June, 1pm – 2pm Online via Zoom Register now Once you register, remember to add the invite to your calendar. About the seminar The talk will discuss plans for digital HASS research support in the Faculty of Arts Digital Studio and beyond, drawing in part from an on-going collaborative project and discussions with colleagues at the University of Toronto Critical Digital Humanities Initiative (CDHI). Speaker Professor David Goodman is …
May 27, 2022 -
May Seminar: Digitisation of the built environment – data, analytics and modelling for urban digital twins
Tuesday 10 May, 12pm – 1pm Online via Zoom Register now Once you register, remember to add the invite to your calendar. About the seminar We are seeing an unprecedented global move towards the digitisation of the built environment, driven by national and international urban digital twin initiatives. These initiatives aim to improve real-time and longer term strategic decision making, planning and investment. Significant progress has …
May 3, 2022 -
Introducing Edoardo
Ed is a Senior Research Data Specialist at MDAP, galaxy simulation creator, hiking enthusiast and a keen appreciator of Iron Maiden. He holds a PhD in physics, and is passionate about the real-world application of research and advocating the need for industry and academia to join together to tackle the world’s big problems. Tell us a bit about your career trajectory …
March 16, 2022 -
April Panel Series: Research partnerships and building communities
Hear experiences and approaches to working with research partners across disciplines and the broader community. Tuesday 5 April, 11am to 12.30pm In person at Melbourne Connect Launchpad, 700 Swanston St, Parkville, VIC 3010 Register now About this event Bringing together researchers from different domains and expertise increases the complexity of research projects. Differing communication styles, outcome expectations, and discipline norms must be balanced and managed to …
March 14, 2022 -
March Seminar Series: Collaborating with AI in Speculative Inquiry
A space to think deeply about what collaborating with AI coupled with speculative thinking makes possible for digital research. Includes AI-assisted mini-making session using pulp-o-mizer. With Sarah Healy and Amanda Belton Tuesday 15 March, 11.30am Online via Zoom Register now About the seminar We will explore current material stemming from a qualitative inquiry into how SentiOne, an AI-based social listening tool, could be used for research collaboration. …
March 2, 2022 -
Introducing Karen
Karen is a Senior Research Data Specialist at MDAP, bushland guardian and maker-creative working at the intersection of data and art. With a Masters in Cultural Material Conservation, she is passionate about data ethics and engaging community as essential to revealing the potential of cultural-based data collections. Tell us a bit about your career trajectory so far My current role in MDAP …
January 20, 2022 -
November MDAP Seminar: Mapping music: Digital tools and collaborative communities
What is similarity in music? How can digital tools help us to understand the relatedness of works and styles? During this interactive presentation, we’ll explore some of the concepts, practices and challenges of modeling the quotable musical text in the digital domain, and how new tools for encoding, addressing and annotating music invite us to think across the disciplines (from …
November 9, 2021 -
MDAP Panel Series: Working with sensitive data and on secure environments
The panel will discuss the complexities of working in secure environments and with sensitive data from different perspectives. Thursday 28 October 2021 1.30 PM – 3 PM AEDT The panel will be held online via Zoom. MC Dr Helena Lynn Dr Helena Lynn is Program Manager of Research Data Management at the University of Melbourne. She holds a BSc and PhD in Molecular Virology from the …
October 13, 2021 -
MDAP collab info sessions for MDHS researchers
MDAP Collaboration EOIs are open for 2022. We’re looking to help researchers explore innovative, tailored and/or end-to-end approaches to their research data journey. Collaborations can include data stewardship, wrangling, analysis, visualisation, access and much more. Your technical knowledge may be beginner, intermediate or advanced, and your idea may be challenging – but we want to hear from you. MDHS info sessions Not …
September 21, 2021 -
MDAP Collaborations EOIs open – register for an info session
MDAP Collaboration EOIs are open for 2022. We’re looking to help researchers explore innovative, tailored and/or end-to-end approaches to their research data journey. Collaborations can include data stewardship, wrangling, analysis, visualisation, access and much more. Your technical knowledge may be beginner, intermediate or advanced, and your idea may be challenging – but we want to hear from you. General info sessions Not …
September 14, 2021 -
We’re hiring! Research Data Specialist job with MDAP
Join our team of Academic Specialists enabling data-intensive research across the disciplines. As the Research Data Specialist (RDS) you will be joining the Melbourne Data Analytics Platform (MDAP) and will have a primary focus on Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS). You will be responsible for advising on, building and/or maintaining software and systems that support activity related to collection, analysis, storage …
September 8, 2021 -
August 2021 MDAP Seminar
The repliCATS project, by Dr Fallon Mody & Dr Martin Bush
August 9, 2021 -
MDAP newsletter – May
Welcome to the MDAP newsletter! Our aim here is to share with you highlights from our MDAP collaborations, information about our MDAP seminar series, key dates for training and research partnership applications, and random cool stuff we have stumbled upon and would like to share.
May 24, 2021 -
Fostering innovations in collaborative research
In this document we showcase how we have contributed in 2020 across the University to research outcomes in areas such as human and animal health, preservation and understanding of culture, energy, neuroscience and more.
May 17, 2021 -
May 2021 MDAP Seminar
The Epoch of Incredulity: Data, Narrative & Contemporary Crisis, by Dr Tyne Daile Sumner
May 7, 2021 -
Introducing Bobbie
Bobbie is our resident genomics wizard, who knows a thing or two about data pipelines and draws inspiration from the film Mad Max and his two dear whippet babies. Meet our much loved social ‘glue’ of MDAP, Bobbie!
March 17, 2021 -
Living with COVID
With an avalanche of misinformation and fake news about COVID-19 out there, who & what do you believe? Check out our 'Living with COVID' campaign, communicating the facts in a fun and engaging way.
March 1, 2021 -
Introducing Emily
Meet Emily, our resident expert on Australian and American politics during Australian federation, and enthusiastic traveller for blues dance and Broadway show experiences. Today, Emily brings a wealth of digital humanities experience to our team, after hopping over to MDAP from The University’s Digital Studio in early 2020.
February 24, 2021 -
Mar on ABC’s The Pop Test
Recently, our own Dr Maria del Mar Quiroga (Mar) starred on ABC podcast, The Pop Test joining hosts, Andy Matthews and Alasdair Tremblay Birchall, and comedians, Dilruk Jayasinha and Naomi Higgins to discuss all things ‘Computers’.
February 9, 2021 -
Collaborating with Dr Marianne Coleman
In 2020, MDAP collaborated with Dr Marianne Coleman, a new researcher in orthoptics to The University of Melbourne. In this three-part series, Marianne shares a bit about her research and experience working with us.
December 21, 2020 -
Congrats to these two Superstars!
We are so pleased to see our colleagues, Dr Mar Quiroga and Priyanka Pillai become Superstars of STEM, joining sixty other women in a two-year leadership and communication program run by STA.
December 8, 2020 -
Supporting Indigenous governance of Indigenous data
To help celebrate NAIDOC Week 2020, we reflect on one of our recent collaborations with the Kaiela Institute, the Indigenous Data Network (IDN) and Scholarly Services to support Indigenous governance of Indigenous Data.
November 10, 2020 -
Introducing Jonathan
Meet our resident geographer, YouTube star and now Research Data Specialist, Jonathan Garber, who is passionate about knowledge sharing, travel, and helping to solve data and code crimes to address global challenges.
October 29, 2020 -
Introducing Robert
Whether it’s decoding questions about the universe, ancient Arabic texts or monolithic ‘Jars’ in present-day Laos, Robert Turnbull has us covered. Discover his journey from Australia to the Middle East and back again to pursue his life passion in uncovering questions of the past.
September 22, 2020 -
Defining the Third Space
In August, we co-facilitated Defining the Third Space with the Sydney Informatics Hub team: an online event that aimed to explore our data-intensive research support space with the community nationally and abroad.
September 17, 2020 -
Shining in an unusual time
Meet Gus, Lingyu, Lexie, Sophia and Hai Ho, Master of Data Science and Information Technology students who joined the MDAP team in mid-2020, shortly after we all started to settle into remote working life.
September 17, 2020 -
Introducing Noel
Meet Noel, our in-house bioinformatics and genetics specialist with a knack for tackling complex computational challenges in health and biological sciences and enjoying backyard travel in lieu of European getaways for now.
September 3, 2020 -
Shaping the future of data-intensive research
To celebrate our first year at MDAP: a showcase of some of our successful collaborations with researchers across the Faculties, and our ideas on the future of data-intensive research.
July 27, 2020 -
Introducing Aleks
Meet Aleks, our resident archaeologist who brings a passion for uncovering history to help shape the future of research data stewardship at the University and beyond. Here we learn about Aleks' journey to, in, and around her new MDAP 'digs'.
June 9, 2020 -
Third Space: The Depth
Recently we co-organised a virtual event with Sydney Informatics Hub (SIH) titled Third Space: The Depth, the first of hopefully many to explore the data-intensive research support space in different institutions. Here we share presentations from this event and exciting next steps.
June 4, 2020 -
Imagining a building with heart
While we have been self-isolating, the innovative Melbourne Connect precinct has been taking form. At its heart: a major new digital artwork that will live and grow with the building, its occupants, and its environment over time.
May 28, 2020 -
Introducing Zaher
Meet Zaher, one of our talented research data specialists with a passion for turning creative software skills towards boundary-pushing projects at the intersection of art, science, and technology that can benefit humans and animals alike.
May 12, 2020 -
Introducing Andrew
Recently, Dr Andrew Siebel jumped on board as our Platform Manager, helping the team to foster inclusiveness, collaboration, technical innovation, and good spirit from the get-go. Here we learn about his pathway in human and animal biology and a life-long passion for diversity.
April 9, 2020 -
Like interning with Avengers
Recently, MDAP kicked off its internship program with four Master of Data Science students jumping onto real-world research problems with our research data specialist and data steward team. Interns Maria, Rohit, Pratibha and Saket slotted seamlessly into the team...
April 2, 2020 -
Introducing Priyanka
"I don’t think there are any wicked problems on my horizon that can't be fixed." Celebrating #IWD2020 with a Q&A with one of our research data stewards, Priyanka Pillai.
March 5, 2020 -
Data-intensive research for real-world impact
RDA Plenary and C3DIS adapt for online viewing! We thank organisers for their work to enable us to contribute to the new program, and look forward to sharing more video recordings of our presentations here as they become available in 2020.
March 3, 2020 -
Introducing Mar
Introducing Mar, one of our talented research data specialists with a serious knack for problem solving in mathematics, neuroscience, public health, and any data-intensive area!
February 20, 2020