The what, how and who in the Bio-IT project

The increasing amount and diversity of data in life sciences is revolutionising the field. Proportionally, a diversity of computational expertise is needed in order to manage, process, analyse and synthesise such data. The Bio-IT project was established to foster the development of computational and data science skills and promote the sharing of knowledge and adoption of best practices at EMBL. To achieve this aim, it relies on voluntary contributions, good communication and a welcoming cooperation environment. The project supports and coordinates the efforts of EMBL’s community of practice by nurturing this environment and the human capital behind it. 

The Bio-IT programme is built on four pillars: I) training and consulting, II) community building and networking, III) infrastructure and resources, and IV) knowledge aggregation and dissemination. Here, we provide an overview of Bio-IT activities focusing on how and why become a member of the community, specifically: the benefits of involvement as a volunteer, the different ways to support the project, the impact the project is having, the motivations behind a diverse and global participation, hence the importance of demographic representation. We will also present specific sustainability challenges faced by the EMBL community, such as its organisational size, distribution of disciplines and needs across sites and quick turnover of personnel and knowledge. While providing support and guidance to active community members, we will reflect on how to lower barriers for new contributors to ensure successful engagement and leading of activities and teaching, including workshops. Defining personas that capture and represent the diversity of the community, we here also highlight an essential aspect in our plan to strengthen peer-consulting and internal communication and collaboration. Finally, we look ahead to upcoming events and activities, encouraging everyone at EMBL to access our services and contribute to their improvement.