Sustainable Collaborations and Knowledge Exchange Across the UK and Europe
Thursday, June 25, 2026 9:15 AM to 10:00 AM · 45 min. (Europe/Berlin)
Hall H, Community Stage - Ground floor
Community Meet-up
Community EngagementDevelopment of HPC SkillsDiversity and InclusionEducation and Training
Information
This session aims to bring attendees together to share experiences, meet new colleagues, and start collaborations that keep going long after the conference has ended. The session is open to all who are interested in sustainable collaboration and community building; experienced researchers, early‑career scientists, mentors and mentees - from all areas of digital research, HPC and data science. The session is supported by CAKE (Computational Abilities Knowledge Exchange), a UKRI‑funded project that helps people connect, exchange expertise, and build community through online resources, placement and visits funds, and fellowships. The UK has a strong tradition of participation at ISC with a diverse HPC community. Exhibitors this year include the likes of STFC, EPCC, Bristol Centre of Supercomputing, and Universities UK. These exhibitors, and many more, are aiming to improve knowledge exchange and collaboration both within and outwith the UK. CAKE provides practical tools to keep momentum after ISC and turn conversations into real activity, helping people stay engaged and supported as they turn their ideas into real life output.
The session format will be simple and flexible. We will begin with short lightning talks from research leaders, describing the next steps of their work: the problem they’re tackling, what they’ll need in terms of resources or expertise, and who could contribute. From here, we’ll move into facilitated group discussions and roundtables, with the aim to map attendees skills and career goals to specific areas of interest driven by the lightning talks. We hope that these discussions will turn into collaboration plans such as joint proposals, shared datasets or benchmarks, co‑developed software or integration work, and coordinated mentoring or training to help early‑career researchers gain independence.
The session is designed to be welcoming and accessible. Attendees can participate at their own pace, and voices from different career levels and institutions will be heard. The session aims to turn what is often scattered, best‑effort collaborations into a durable network of collaborators and mentors that can tackle their next steps. The emphasis is on building connections that cross institutions and borders, creating a community where people feel supported and included.
We hope that attendees gain useful collaboration ideas and initial contact points that they can begin developing. They’ll make new professional connections across the digital research community, plus pathways for mentorship and ongoing joint activity beyond ISC. We aim to foster sustainable connections, helping researchers at all levels work together more effectively, share knowledge, and move their own goals forward in a practical way long after the conference ends.
The session format will be simple and flexible. We will begin with short lightning talks from research leaders, describing the next steps of their work: the problem they’re tackling, what they’ll need in terms of resources or expertise, and who could contribute. From here, we’ll move into facilitated group discussions and roundtables, with the aim to map attendees skills and career goals to specific areas of interest driven by the lightning talks. We hope that these discussions will turn into collaboration plans such as joint proposals, shared datasets or benchmarks, co‑developed software or integration work, and coordinated mentoring or training to help early‑career researchers gain independence.
The session is designed to be welcoming and accessible. Attendees can participate at their own pace, and voices from different career levels and institutions will be heard. The session aims to turn what is often scattered, best‑effort collaborations into a durable network of collaborators and mentors that can tackle their next steps. The emphasis is on building connections that cross institutions and borders, creating a community where people feel supported and included.
We hope that attendees gain useful collaboration ideas and initial contact points that they can begin developing. They’ll make new professional connections across the digital research community, plus pathways for mentorship and ongoing joint activity beyond ISC. We aim to foster sustainable connections, helping researchers at all levels work together more effectively, share knowledge, and move their own goals forward in a practical way long after the conference ends.
Format
on-site
