EUDAT Porto Conference 2018

1. www.eudat.euEUDAT receives funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme - DG CONNECT e-Infrastructures. Contract No. 654065
EUDAT Training Experiences
Shock, Horror and Beer
Shaun de Witt, CCFE
EUDAT Conference, Porto
Jan 2018

2. Background
Imagine, if you will
The EUDAT Summer School
Many months of planning
40 eager, fresh-faced students all with the right
equipment
13 Trainers (from a range of projects)
Test infrastructures set up, training plans
documented, reviewed and tested
Room swept for zombie virus and scary clowns
What could possibly go wrong?

3. Oh the Horror!
One of the first things students needed to do
Log into B2ACCESS, the EUDAT AAI service
Pretty much immediately, there was a realisation that we
had a serious issue
First few people logged in successfully but then…
We had ‘contingency’ planning for service failure
… but this wasn’t a failure
... We had exposed a scalability
issue

4. Impact Assessment - or turning failure into
opportunity
Immediate impact actions
Slowed the day down
Students turned into ‘guinea pigs’
(somewhat better than frogs) to repeat
the test for 10 minutes next day
Long term impact
The summer school had a high overall evaluation
(4.5/5.0)
The most remembered negative was B2ACCESS in a
follow up survey

5. The ‘Hooray’
Many things went well
Well organised (Thanks mainly to Marjan (DANS),
Sara and Caterina(Trust-IT) and staff at FORTH)
Good Social Events
Near perfect weather
Good mix of students
Everything prepared
… But what stood out?

6. Mixing It Up!
Impromptu Social Events
Students and Trainers
… going out for an (unplanned) drink
... trying to get into a club
... Mixed tables at breakfast & dinner
Remember – not everything will work for everyone

7. Results!
The Requirements
Know your students!
Some would like a quiet 1-2-1 over breakfast
Others will appreciate a good night out
Know your trainers
Some would like a quiet 1-2-1 over breakfast
Others will appreciate a good night out
The Advantages
Students tend to be more open and
honest in less formal settings
Trainers and planners get more feedback
Specific Questions can be more easily answered without
taking up class time, but can be disseminated if important