Ambassadors Meetup brought together 60 participants for a day of collaboration and ideas
A CSC Ambassador is a researcher or research support professional who acts as a bridge between their local research community and CSC. As part of the Scientific Computing Ambassador Programme run by CSC’s Science Support group, ambassadors help researchers and students navigate CSC’s tools and services and make effective use of them. They share information, connect colleagues with CSC experts, collect feedback, and may help organise local training and events. In return, ambassadors gain direct access to CSC specialists, early updates on new services, peer support from a professional network, and opportunities to influence future training and service development.
In November 2025, around 40 ambassadors and 20 CSC experts gathered in the Keilaniemi Auditorium for a full day of networking, knowledge sharing and collaborative work. A key outcome was the strengthening of peer connections: many ambassadors discovered colleagues in other disciplines and institutions who face similar challenges. Beyond lively discussions, the day produced concrete results.
Ambassadors and CSC specialists mapped common pain points in research support, identified gaps in training pathways, and highlighted opportunities to clarify guidance on data management, HPC workflows and sensitive data services. Several participants also initiated follow-up actions, such as planning joint training, inviting CSC experts to campus seminars and piloting new ways of sharing updates within their own institutions.
The event offered a welcome opportunity to step away from daily routines and get up to date with community developments. As one participant noted: “I focus on one thing at a time and drown in all kinds of emails and newsletters. Therefore the dedicated meetup is valuable to keep updated.”
The programme included facilitated networking sessions, a talk by Enrico Glerean and Richard Darst from Aalto Science-IT on “Overview of the Aalto Research Software Engineers and the Scientific Computing Module”, and twelve World Café discussions hosted by CSC specialists. Topics ranged from integrating CSC services into university curricula and the use of sensitive data services to containers and workflows on HPC, data transfer between CSC services, and support for R, Python and AI.
Where do researchers learn scientific computing?
Participants also worked together on the theme “Where and how do researchers learn scientific computing?” sharing experiences and new ideas. These insights will be compiled and shared with the wider research community. With a well-balanced mix of structured activities, a friendly atmosphere and many chances to connect during lunch and coffee breaks, the meetup succeeded in strengthening collaboration across the community.
CSC aims to organise at least one on-site Ambassadors Meetup each year, as face-to-face meetings were seen as particularly valuable for building networks and fostering meaningful collaboration. The discussions also pointed to a need for more frequent exchanges around specific themes. In response, CSC plans to pilot topical online sessions where ambassadors and CSC specialists can share best practices, practical tips and lessons learned. These sessions will also help identify shared challenges and, hopefully, spark new areas of collaboration across institutions.
Feedback reflected the positive energy of the event: “My feedback was a simple 10/10 🙂 I can’t think of anything that could be improved, it was good to interact with other ambassadors.” Another participant praised the format: “Good initial games, World Café a very good idea, just what we need.”
Both ambassadors and CSC specialists left the meetup energised and with plenty of fresh insights to take back to their own institutions.
Photo: Adobe Stock.
Authors: Maria Lehtivaara and Samantha Wittke at CSC.
