Loved seeing Saranjeet remix our Open Science Bird Advent Calendar 2025 into a scrollytelling experiment. Built with the Closeread Quarto extension, it shows how open values reach further when the community reuses and reshapes them. 🔗 buff.ly/wmgU83o 🔧 buff.ly/eQgHxmG

Become a DRA Research Trainer! Train The Trainer program #8 is online: Learn, deliver & publish research training while joining a global trainer community. 2–23 Mar 2026 + Apr–Jul (self-paced) Apply by 13 Feb buff.ly/ARb24GI #OpenScience #TrainTheTrainer #DigitalResearchAcademy

Your Open Science work deserves to be seen. Meet the first-ever OSPARK Bootcamp, a 6-week online programme + 2-day onsite workshop in Belfast to help Open Science initiatives grow their visibility. 5 Mar–24 Apr 2026 Apply by 13 Feb buff.ly/OmrwEI5

GIS data chaos? Let’s fix that. Register by 31 Jan 2026! 'Foundations of Research Data Management for GIS' helps you turn messy GIS workflows into clear, FAIR, reusable data with practical strategies built for real GIS work. 📅 5 Feb–5 Mar 2026 buff.ly/dKfzs2a

Data driving you crazy? Questions about access, privacy, ethics, or governance? The EconData Workshop is an unconference where people working with data create the agenda and tackle real challenges together. No panels. No slide marathons. 🗓️ 26–27 Feb 2026 | Nuremberg Register here: buff.ly/AbK26lO

Day 24 On the final day, the Open Science Bird fluffs her feathers and surveys the forest. Her nest is strong, her community vibrant, and countless animals have built better homes thanks to shared knowledge. A warmer, kinder forest — all because she chose to build openly.

Day 23 The Better Nest community expands globally. She and her partners think hard about sustainability: How can the community support new nest builders for years to come? They sketch plans for maintenance, governance, and long-term care.

Day 22 A podcasting penguin from Antarctica slides into her messages. “Want to chat about nest building on my show for arctic creatures?” She agrees instantly — the cross-continental collab she never knew she needed. check out: Research Podcasting Essentials Series on Spotify buff.ly/1iO7wsP

Day 21 She launches her communication channels and begins connecting with others. Some birds message her to collaborate; she reaches out to old friends too. The network grows — and so does the potential. Learn more: How do you ensure your science is seen, used, and sustained? buff.ly/51vs6lG

Day 19 She brainstorms where to spread the word: forest conferences, birdsong networks and the wide world of woodland internet. Different channels for different audiences. Take a look at: Workbooks: Open Science on the Menu - How to get visibility for your Open Science Initiative buff.ly/h2Izien

Day 18 Now she thinks about how she wants to sound and look: What tone? What visuals? A logo? A signature feather motif? Branding helps everyone recognize her communications instantly. Learn more: Sign up for OSPARK Bootcamp to learn how to do this: buff.ly/Z8zHVnH

Day 17 She reflects on her message: What does she want to share about nest building? Why does it matter? Who will benefit--other nest-building animals, of course. Clarity dawns like morning sunlight through the branches. Learn more: OSPARK Email Course Sign Up: buff.ly/3GyWMEN

Day 16 A friendly hedgehog suggests she promote her findings to help others build good nests. She nods. “Right. Time to make a communication and advocacy plan!” And so begins the Better Nest Initiative. Learn more: OSPARK Project Page buff.ly/9M0IDYG

Day 15 A snarky crow swoops down, inspecting the nest with a judgmental tilt of his head. “Hmm,” he croaks, “but how prestigious is it? Did you build it in a high-impact tree?”

Day 14 Her preprint becomes a fully published nest manual—freely available to every creature in the forest and beyond. No paywalls here; all wings welcome. Take a look: Streamlining your Open Access Publishing with RDM Episode: buff.ly/w1gwR6m

Day 13 Before finishing her nest, she posts a preprint: “Preliminary Findings on Structurally Sound Nests.” Other birds leave comments floating on the stream like little notes on leaves drifting past with friendly suggestions. She updates her approach accordingly.

Day 12 A curious owl wants to learn how she builds such sturdy nests but instead of giving a long lecture, she hands him a “Nest Basics” guide to read before they meet. When they gather later, they skip the boring explanations and jump straight into practicing twig placing techniques together.

📢 Free online course: "Sharing Computational Environments with Pixi" Do you want to learn more about ways to improve how to share computational environments? Join our workshop! Tuesday 13 Jan 2026, 11:00 → 12:00 CET More info and sign up here: events.digital-research.academy/event/128/ #pixi

Day 11 Halfway through building, she starts feeling overwhelmed by decisions: twig angle, moss layering, feather placement… So she tries a new tool: a Large Limb Model—a tiny, Christmassy tree trained on thousands of historical nests.

Day 10 She writes tiny tests to ensure everything works as planned: “Does this twig hold weight?” “Does this moss absorb moisture?” “Do these feathers resist wind?” Everything passes, except the wind feathers. She adjusts them and the tests turn green.

Day 9 A curious raven asks, “How exactly are you layering the moss?” The Open Science bird shares her full environment setup: temperature, humidity, moss thickness, twig density. Now the raven can recreate the same comfy structure.

Day 8 As her nest grows, she can’t keep up, random twigs everywhere, scattered notes, total chaos. So she creates a simple structure: clear docs, a tiny task board and shared standards for twig-placing. Suddenly everything feels lighter. Teamwork clicks and the nest base finally comes together.

Day 7 A mole shows her a perfect twig but can’t remember where he found it. Without a record, the twig’s source is lost. So she starts a simple reference list: every good twig gets its tree, location, and details noted. Soon, no twig is ever “mysterious” again.

Day 6 A flock flies by with the twigs she needs. “Where did you get those?”she calls. They shrug.“Somewhere near the stream? Maybe the oak?” So she invites them to search together. They compare notes, coordinate with twig map. Suddenly, the forest becomes navigable and the twig pile grows quickly

Day 5 Collecting twigs turns into chaos: some are hidden, some crumble, some are the wrong shape, and many she finds only once and never again. Moss and string aren’t any better. By sunset she sighs, “Why is nothing findable around here?”

Day 4 Before collecting a single twig,she drafts a Nest Management Plan-what she'll gather, where she’ll store it and how long she’ll keep everything organised. It feels good to see her thoughts laid out. With a clear plan, the whole project suddenly feels lighter, calmer and completely manageable

Day 3 A sudden gust of wind snatches her blueprint, well almost! Luckily, she has all her versions tucked safely in her pinecone-based version control system. She smirks, “Ha! Try blowing away v1.1, forest.” Check out collaborative Git without GitHub: buff.ly/KkJXbcY

Day 2 She sketches her nest design and pins it to a tree trunk like a public notice board. “Maybe someone can help me improve this,” she says. A squirrel adds a clever tweak; a hedgehog suggests reinforcing the base. The blueprint becomes better with every pawprint.

Day1 In a quiet winter forest, a small Open Science Bird decides to build the best nest ever. Not just any nest but one built openly, so every creature can learn from it. “If research is a nest,” she chirps, “then I am building mine so everyone benefits.”

📣 Deadline Extended to Wednesday! Good news — we’ve extended the application deadline for the Open Science Retreat 2026! 🎉 If you’ve been meaning to apply but needed a little more time, this is your chance. ✨ Don’t miss out — apply by Dec. 3 and be part of something special. buff.ly/lFoKE2K

Our Trainer Community Manager Danny Garside is at the “Building a comprehensive and coordinated training landscape for dRTPs” event today! Great to see CaSDaR there too, bringing together people shaping the future of research training. Go team! 🌟

Introducing our DRAdvent Calendar! Meet our Open Science Bird where each day till 24th December she takes on a new challenge to build the most open and reproducible nest. You’ll also get DRA workshop highlights, collaborator spotlights & tiny Open Science lessons. Join us on 1 Dec! 🌟

Final Call! OSR applications close 30 November! If you’ve been planning to apply, this is the moment. Join an international community of researchers & open science practitioners for a week of focus, creativity, collaboration, and connection in Machynlleth. Apply: buff.ly/6z1PhfU

Open Science Retreat 2026 — yes, you can bring your kids! 🌿 Application close in 9 days: buff.ly/6z1PhfU CAT is very family-friendly, and kids can join great workshops: Wind Power, Sustainable Building, Story of Water, Bold Futures. Bring your family, learn together. See you in Machynlleth!

“Being angry doesn’t change the world. Creating the path to a better one does.” In her recent TEDx talk, Dr. Heidi Seibold explored what it means to build a better research culture through Open Science--moving from gatekeeping to transparency and from pressure to possibility.

What if the best ideas come don't come from office rooms but from hiking with people who care about the same things you do? That’s the Open Science Retreat. 📅 April 7–11, 2026, Wales 🔗 buff.ly/E09Fj3E We’re looking for sponsors who believe community matters. Support better science, support people. ✨

Our trainer Laura Carter is speaking at SeaGL 2025! 🎤 Open Training for Open Research 📅 Nov 7 | 10:30 | Room 340 🔗 buff.ly/BJZYdBG She’ll share how DRA builds community-powered training to make Open Science the default. If you're at SeaGL, say hi! 🌱

New workshop alert! DRA + Forschungszentrum Jülich are hosting: Better Software Architecture, Better Software, Better Research 🗓 13 Nov 2025 Most research software focuses on what the code does. This workshop focuses on how to structure it so it remains reusable and adaptable. 🔗 buff.ly/Wo7aHZ7

Dr. Heidi Seibold is speaking at TEDxTUM 2025! 🎤 She’s asking: How do we make science serve its purpose again? If you care about Open Science & better research culture — this talk is for you. 📅 Nov 8, 2025 🎟️ Discounted tickets: buff.ly/UGx2t6t #TEDxTUM #OpenScience #ResearchCulture

We’re planning a hands-on workshop for the Open Science Retreat 2026 and we’d love your ideas! What topic should we explore to that would help you and your community to make research more open, inclusive & impactful? 📅 Apr 7–11, 2026 | Machynlleth, Wales 💬 Reply or tag someone with awesome ideas!

Year-end budgets left? Invest in openness, not leftovers. The Digital Research Academy helps institutions build transparent, reproducible research through expert training and collaboration. Turn unused funds into future-ready research skills. 📩 [email protected] #OpenScience #ResearchCulture

Big goals need powerful voices and ours just hit TEDx! 🎤 Heidi Seibold, co-founder of Digital Research Academy, takes the stage at TEDxTUM 2025 to talk Open & Reproducible Science. How do we rebuild trust, openness & collaboration in research? Find out Nov 8! #OpenScience y #TEDx #ResearchCulture

Last call to level up your #Python skills! Make your projects reproducible, shareable & long-lasting. Join our interactive online workshop with Priyanka Ojha to learn: Project structuring best practices Managing deps with Pixi Building & publishing on PyPI 📅 Mon, 27 Oct 2025 🔗 buff.ly/Qmk4qAr

Ready to finally preregister your next study? 🚀 Join Lisa Spitzer (ZPID) for a 90-min live workshop to make preregistration simple, practical & fun! 📅 22 Oct | 🕑 14:00–15:30 CEST 📍 Uni of Cologne – Room S134 👉 Sign up: buff.ly/TMhjbrj #OpenScience #Psychology

🚨 Happening live next week! Thinking about preregistering your next psychology study but unsure where to start? Join Lisa Spitzer for a hands-on, live workshop designed to make preregistration accessible 22 Oct 2025 14:00–15:30 (Europe/Zurich) Room S 134, University of Cologne

🚀 Registration is OPEN for the Open Science Retreat 2026! A week of open ideas, fresh air & creative collaboration. It’s not your usual conference, it’s part unconference, part hackathon, all community. 📅 Apr 7–11, 2026 | 📍 Machynlleth, Wales 👉 Sign up: buff.ly/L6MIbtq #OpenScience

Health researchers who code this is for you! Our flipped classroom workshop of 6 weeks will help you level up your coding: reproducibility, documentation, version control, CI, testing + more Format: videos, tasks, buddy system + live sessions Online | 20 hours total work Register:

Curious about preregistration but not sure where to start? Join Lisa Spitzer for a 90-min Preregistration in Psychology workshop on 22 Oct 2025 (14:00–15:30, Cologne). Learn the why, what & how of preregistration and leave ready to make your next study transparent & reproducible. buff.ly/GqauCur

✨ Final quarter of 2025 ✨ If your org has funds to allocate, why not invest in your people? DRA offers training in: 🔹 Open Science 🔹 Data Literacy 🔹 Research Software Engineering Let’s turn year-end budgets into lasting skills. 👉 buff.ly/kdftHt0 #OpenScience #Training #DataLiteracy #ResearchSoftware

Continuous Integration for Research Code Oct 9, 2025 | 10–12 CEST | Online Make your code reproducible, automated & future-proof. Join Christian Meesters for a practical CI workshop. ✅ CI pipelines with GitHub Actions ✅ Testing, debugging, reproducibility with Conda/Docker Sign up: buff.ly/pspq9yC