Research IT News
Cross-Language Mappings: A TIC Collaboration with voxANN
Our Research Software Engineers, in close collaboration with the Department of Computer Science, teamed up with local SME, voxANN, to build an AI pipeline that links English and Spanish for smooth, high-quality dubbing — unlocking smarter, scalable media localisation.
Advancing R at the University
Meet Martin Herrerias Azcue, Research Software Engineer in Research IT and one of the leads of the R User Group at The University of Manchester (R.U.M.). The group serves as a hub for R users, providing a lively, engaged community where everyone is welcome to ask questions and to share their R knowledge.
Transforming Decision-Making for Nuclear Power Systems
Discover how our Research Software Engineers have transformed a decision-making tool developed at the University’s Dalton Nuclear Institute. Previously based on large PowerPoint documents, the tool has been transformed into a sleek web application.
Sprint Forward: Evolving Agile Practice for Research Software Engineers
The Agile Methods for RSEs training course has evolved into a hands-on, department-wide learning experience that combines real-world agile practice with tailored tools and team collaboration. The 2025 workshop introduced new GitHub features, structured challenges, and personalised facilitation, serving as a valuable onboarding and team-building event for new and returning RSEs.
A Day of Volunteering in Manchester’s Urban Gardens
Recently, members of Research IT spent a day volunteering with PLANT-MCR, a local gardening co-operative that transforms neglected urban spaces into vibrant green areas. Supported by the University's volunteering leave policy, the team took part in garden maintenance and planting across several city sites, strengthening team bonds and inspiring a renewed commitment to community volunteering.
PATRAN / NASTRAN Retirement
An important announcement for any users for PATRAN/NASTRAN at the University.
PyCon UK Comes to Manchester!
PyCon UK will be held in Manchester for the first time this year. The University of Manchester will have a booth at the conference, organised by members of the eScience Lab, Software Sustainability Institute and Research IT. Find out how you can get involved!
NVivo Upgrade Now Available
If you are one of the many NVivo users at the University you can now update to versions 14 or 15. NVivo 12 codes will not be published next year so all users are strongly encouraged to update.
Launch of the C++ User Group
The Computation and Data In Research (CaDiR) community continues to grow! This is a new space for University staff and researchers who work with C++, whether they are experienced systems programmers or beginners. The group aims to create an inclusive community of practice for those involved in simulation codes, high-performance libraries, or object-oriented design.
Getting Started with Docker: Python “Hello World” Example
Get a quick introduction to containerisation with Docker from one of our Research Software Engineers (RSE). Docker packages apps and their dependencies and are an ideal way to solve the "works on my machine" problem. Learn about Docker's main perks: consistency, portability, isolation, and scalability and there are links to extra resources if you want to learn more.
SPSS 30 Now Available
If you are one of the many University researchers who use SPSS, you may want to consider updating to the latest version - SPSS 30 is available to you now!
Research IT GitHub Actions Repository Launched
Donal Fellows, Research Software Engineer, has curated a collection of GitHub Actions that we are making freely available for use across the University. Comprised of a collection of basic automation tasks that he has found useful across multiple projects, he also gives an example of how this can be applied in a simple Python project.