Getting the most out of #dotastro hack day Lessons from hacking for humanity Dr. Arna Karick – Freelance Astronomy & Computing Consultant ! @drarnakarick " www.arnakarick.com | techsavvyastronomer.io
PhD Astronomy, University of Melbourne Galaxy evolution in Fornax + UCDs Postdoc, IGPP, LLNL More of the above + Virgo & M31 GCs Postdoc, ARI, LJMU HST/ACS Coma Cluster Treasury Survey Postdoc, Oxford HST follow-up for Atlas3D Galaxy Survey Research Data Analyst/ e-Research Consultant/ & Project Manager, Swinburne Research Research infrastructure projects, HPC, Data Strategy/Tech Institutes Freelance Consultant, Melbourne OzGrav: $31M pitch, Website, Gravity Spy2 Astronomy Australia Ltd - Advisory Work techsavvyastronomer.io RHoK .Astronomy6 – Adler, Chicago Next stop: Tech! – Data science/ML+DL/ product development
Getting the most out of #dotastro hack day Lessons from hacking for humanity Dr. Arna Karick – Freelance Astronomy & Computing Consultant ! @drarnakarick " www.arnakarick.com | techsavvyastronomer.io
We match local organisations that have a social impact with skilled technologists, keen to tackle challenges facing society. Our focus is on health, education, environment, sustainability, disadvantaged and vulnerable communities.
RHoK Cape Town Sanitation Hack RHoK Durban Global Hack @RHOKDurban RHoK Pretoria Socio-Economical Africa @rhokpta RHoK Australia Summer & Winter Hacks Largest, most developed community: Sydney, Western Sydney, Brisbane, Ipswich, Melbourne & Bendigo
Minimum Viable Product Re-design or development of a new website Databases, interactive content, data collection Integrating widgets, maps, data for an existing website Mobile apps & gamification Some sort of proof-of-concept We embrace agile methodologies Working software/product –– over documentation Responsive to change –– over following a fixed plan Customer collaboration –– over contract negotiation Interaction/Individuals –– over process & tools
Minimum Viable Product Re-design or development of a new website Databases, interactive content, data collection Integrating widgets, maps, data for an existing website Mobile apps & gamification Some sort of proof-of-concept We embrace agile methodologies Working software/product –– over documentation Responsive to change –– over following a fixed plan Customer collaboration –– over contract negotiation Interaction/Individuals –– over process & tools Tip #1 Research is all about being agile. Concept of MVP comes naturally to astronomers.
We also embrace “failure” Sometimes the idea isn’t that good Sometimes the platform/technology isn’t right Sometimes we don’t have the right expertise Sometimes the hackathon is the start of the journey/collaboration We change direction. We throw things out We pivot a lot… each time we learn something new
We also embrace “failure” We change direction We throw things out We pivot a lot… Each time we learn something new Sometimes the idea isn’t that good Sometimes the platform/technology isn’t right Sometimes we don’t have the right expertise Sometimes the weekend is the start of the journey/collaboration Tip #2 Participate in at least one non-astro hackathon. You meet really interesting, talented people. Good ones are awesome and you learn a lot. Don’t be discouraged by the bad. Good experience if you’re thinking of a tech career. Bring your own hack buddy.
A sense of what can be achieved quickly – MVPs - What might be needed for a robust final product Appreciation of realistic development timelines Great conversations with different people Lean and Agile principles Learn how languages & applications fit together Complexities of software development Code documentation Discovering useful tools Combining tools to create new things Starting new collaborations Making new friends Get involved in Open Source projects Collaborative Coding & Version Control Introduction to Code Testing Best practises in computing Machine Learning Code optimisation Data Visualisation Community Developed Tutorials - Jupyter - Identifying your own abilities Learn about other career paths Learning about tech roles & skills required Expanding your network It’s not really about what you do… or don’t do. It’s more about learning and community.
Tips Part #3 1. Accept that you’re probably going to be a little it uncomfortable. Embrace it. 2. You don’t have to pitch a hack idea, but sharing ideas is always good. 3. Jump on someone else’s hack project OR pick up a previous #dotastro hack OR pick someone you would like to work with OR watch, talk, play, and learn. 4. Don’t be afraid to tell people what you can do. 5. Don’t be afraid to tell people what you can’t do. 6. Don’t dwell on what you can’t do. 7. Do buddy up with dotastro veterans and new friends. 8. Talk to everyone about everything. Ask questions. Help others. 9. Use Slack. Use Jupyter Notebooks. Use pen and paper. …not necessarily right
9. Some people may float around before settling on a hack. Be inclusive. 10. Try not to float for too long! Everything tends to move fast on hack day. 11. Ideally discussions should be at level of the novice hacker. 12. Be aware of the overwhelmed/shy/scared – #ImposterSyndrome 13. Keep hacks simple. Aim for something you can demonstrate. 14. Don’t worry about “failure”. 15. Documenting, blogging & making hack tutorials are all good things to do. 16. Tweet/Slack your hacks: ideas, calls for help, sucesses & failures. 17. Have fun. This is a unique opportunity. Explore SAAO. Channel your inner Kermit. Tips Part #3 …not necessarily right
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