Conveners
Virtual Research Communities
- Gergely Sipos (EGI.EU)
Virtual Research Communities
- Gergely Sipos (EGI.EU)
Description
Within EGI the model for scalable user support is the Virtual Research Community (VRC). This model serves both large and small communities by offering structured research communities a sustainable mechanism with which to interact with EGI. VRCs are groups of researchers, possibly widely dispersed, working together effectively through the use of information and communications technology (ICT). With the help of EGI the VRC researchers can collaborate, communicate, share resources, access remote computers or equipment and produce results as effectively as if they, and the resources they require, were physically co-located. EGI through its partners provides a set of services for VRCs, which includes the following:
- Computing, data storage and other types of resource made available by EGI stakeholders through open source middleware software solutions.
- A requirement gathering process and tracking system run by the User Community Support Team of EGI.eu to capture, detail and investigate communities’ requirements and to provide solutions directly or through third parties.
- Assistance and training to become routine user of the infrastructure, to adapt of VRC-specific applications and data to EGI technologies.
While VRCs benefit from these existing services they also develop and operate services that would be in the interest of other VRCs.
The 2 x 90 minutes long session provides opportunity for VRCs and user communities to present their experiences and plans of being part of the EGI community and about the services they (will) use and offer within the European Grid Infrastructure.
The representatives of the EGI User Community Support activity will introduce the services provided by EGI for VRCs, including the Application Database, the Training Marketplace and the Services for Virtual Organisations.
