Action items
HoNs and EXCELERATE work package leaders to register for the ELIXIR HoN/EXCELERATE work package leaders meeting, 2-3 September 2015 meeting here (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/elixir-heads-of-nodesexcelerate-work-pac…) , by Friday 7 August.
* Complete this spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DBWDy04VM9zHCbNgx2I32vW_hDO2CTT…) on specific personnel involved in EXCELERATE activities from your Node as necessary, and forward it within your Nodes as required. See further details below.
* Let Manuel Corpas (mailto:) and Frederik Coppens (mailto:frcop@psb.vib-ugent.be) know if you have any comments, views or recommendations regarding the usage and deployment of Galaxy services in your platforms by August 1st. See further details below.From last weeks update:
* Review the draft agenda for the ELIXIR HoN/EXCELRATE Work Package Leaders meeting (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4WQQq4hwmbQVDh6T0FqcWwzTDA/view?usp=s…) in September and let Niklas know (mailto:niklas.blomberg@elixir-europe.org) if you have any feedback or suggestions for additional breakout sessions by 31st of July 2015.
* Platform leads to fill in this survey (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4WQQq4hwmbQNm16T0lYVWlDYkU/view?usp=s…) on resource needs in platforms & user communities in 2016 by 12 August and send back to susanna.repo@elixir-europe.org (mailto:susanna.repo@elixir-europe.org) .
Preparations for EXCELERATE
The Grant Agreement preparation process with the Commission has now been completed and we are waiting for the invitation to sign. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to getting the additional information requested on various items together. Similarly, the EXCELERATE Consortium Agreement is in its final sprint: as of this writing, we are missing only a handful of the 42 signatures - thank you again to everyone for constructive contributions!We now need to get information together on specific personnel involved in the activities - for this we have prepared a Google spreadsheet for you to please check, complete as necessary, and forward within your nodes: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DBWDy04VM9zHCbNgx2I32vW_hDO2CTT…. In the spreadsheet, rows have already been added for all partners who are funded in a given work package. Please ensure that there is at least one name for each funded partner associated with your Node (additional rows may be added as necessary). Please also ensure that you include information in the right-hand column on 'expertise' for each person.
IMPORTANT: if there are people who are not funded within a specific work package, but must still be informed of activities (e.g. someone from a use case who needs to know what is happening on the technical side), please add a row with their names in that work package and state 'informed' in this column.This spreadsheet will be very important to ensure smooth communications across EXCELERATE as well as ultimately the ELIXIR platforms, so please help to ensure the necessary information is provided.
Registration now open for HoN/EXCELERATE work package leaders meeting, 2-3 September 2015
Full logistical information for the ELIXIR HoN/EXCELERATE WP Leader meeting in September can now be found here (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/elixir-heads-of-nodesexcelerate-work-pac…) .You will need to register for the meeting, providing your attendance information at the above link by close of play Friday 7 August.It should be noted that this meeting is only for ELIXIR Heads of Nodes and EXCELERATE work package leaders. A full kick off meeting for all EXCELERATE partners will be held on 10 December.The draft agenda for the meeting can be found here (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4WQQq4hwmbQVDh6T0FqcWwzTDA/view?usp=s…) .If you have any feedback on the draft agenda or suggestions for additional breakout sessions please let Niklas know (mailto:niklas.blomberg@elixir-europe.org) by 31st of July.
Update from the ELIXIR Galaxy Working Group and request for input
Following discussions at the ELIXIR-Galaxy workshop (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1k_d9A4HDTcmjEhYW3FbVeEjcAkembhxupZZ…) at the Galaxy Community Conference (Norwich, UK, 7th of July), we have received feedback and recommendations from users and developers involved in Galaxy from across the continent and beyond.We are also pleased that we have received answers from 71 respondents so far. We will make all these results available in a variety of ways. It strikes us that the majority of people who responded are not ELIXIR members and that a sizeable number are from outside Europe.
Before we get back to the HoNs with the summary of the recommendations and our interpretation of results, we wanted to give you a chance to tell us any recommendations regarding how you see the application/usage of Galaxy in the platforms you are involved in. We want to ask you before we publish results so that your answers are independent from them.If you could send us any comments, views or recommendations regarding the usage and deployment of Galaxy services in your platform by August 1st, we will include them in our report that will go to the HoNs for discussion.If you have anything to add, please send your comments toManuel Corpas (mailto:) and Frederik Coppens (mailto:frcop@psb.vib-ugent.be) , with a list of bullet points, in order that the comments can be incorporated into the report and conclusions.
ELIXIR at the Galaxy Community conference, 6-8 July 2015, Norwich, UK
ELIXIR co-sponsored the annual Galaxy Community Conference, hosted by the Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich, UK. Part of the programme was an ELIXIR-Galaxy workshop organised on Tuesday 7 July 2015. The goal of the workshop was to discuss what are the biggest challenges in using and sustaining the Galaxy platform and how ELIXIR can support Galaxy users. The input from the workshop will feed into a set of recommendations to the ELIXIR Heads of Node regarding the provision of Galaxy services and infrastructure.More information: https://www.elixir-europe.org/news/towards-european-galaxy-community
Update from ELIXIR at ISMB/ECCB 2015 in Dublin
A news article on ELIXIR presence at the ISMB/ECCB conference in Dublin this week can now be found here (http://www.elixir-europe.org/news/elixir-ismbeccb-2015-dublin) .In addition to having an exhibition booth at the conference, a special session was co-hosted between ELIXIR and the NIH BD2K initiative to explore possible collaboration between Europe and USA in bioinformatics, and a number of posters on ELIXIR training activities and the ELIXIR Data Service Registry were also displayed.Thank you to those Node staff who helped out.We are already in touch with the organisers of ECCB 2016 (http://www.eccb2016.org/) , who are looking for suggestions of sessions, and expect ELIXIR to have a big presence at this conference, which will take place in the Hague, 3-7 September 2016.
Meeting with EC on Personalised Medicine and EFSI
ELIXIR took part in a joint meeting between the ESFRI BMS RIs and the EC recently. The meeting was themed on Personalised Medicine and looked at the new European Funds for Strategic Investments (ESFI) as a possible way of resourcing activities. The slides presented by the EC are attached for information. If you have any questions please contact Andy Smith.There is also an information day in Brussels on 18 September for the Health Work Programme of Horizon 2020. The event should be of interest to any researchers thinking of applying to the Health Calls later in the year: http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm?pg=events&eventcode=7829B368-BCD…
Reminder of Key Meetings/Dates
HoN and EXCELERATE WP leads meeting (2-3 Sept) (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/elixir-heads-of-nodesexcelerate-work-pac…)
ELIXIR Board meeting, Hinxton, Cambridge (22 - 23 Oct)
Symposium: Open bridges for life science data, Hinxton, UK (17-18 Nov) (https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/open-bridges-for-life-science-data-regis…)
CORBEL Kick off meeting (19 Nov)
ELIXIR SAB (8-9 Dec)/EXCELERATE kick off meeting (10 Dec)
ELIXIR all-hands meeting (8-9 Mar 2016)
Key dates for EXCELERATE including details of upcoming Work Package meetings will be added to the EXCELERATE project calendar (http://elixir-europe.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=751beffce2e491f…) , as they become available.
If you have any dates to add to the calendar please let us know (mailto:nicola.kay@elixir-europe.org) .Information on upcoming TrCG meetings can be found here (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Rbab3GKN-Scx1nct4TlC5kaRHLLt1mn5Wks…)