6 May 2021
Edd Salkield is a research software engineer in the UK, where he founded Dreaming Spires. In this episode, we talk about a different kind of future for RSE work to serve the diverse demands of digital research based on international collaboration of RSE consultants and freelancers.
After finishing his studies with a MSc in computer science from Oxford University in 2020, Edd wanted to bring researchers and software engineering talent together to fulfil scientists’ needs for reproducible and trustworthy software. Only then he learned about the broader RSE community in the UK. Despite the difficulties of the pandemic, he funded the startup Dreaming Spires to bring together researchers, RSE consultants, and freelance developers to find just the right interdisciplinary skill set needed for research software projects in a scalable way. Edd and Vanessa discuss the different approaches between traditional RSE groups and Dreaming Spires’ take on research software engineering, what either approach excels at, and how they can work together. Edd shares his experiences about working in academia in contrast with working at a startup - and about tea!
Learn more about Dreaming Spires on the company website at https://dreamingspires.dev/.