Celebrating and understanding ‘research transformation’

A new campaign entitled ‘Research Transformation’ is being launched by Digital Science to celebrate the art of change within the research sector. 

Arising from the TL;DR initiative at Digital Science, Research Transformation will look at the challenging AI future that lies ahead with an openness to transformation, and a willingness to approach these transformations collectively – both within organisations and across broader research communities. Across three themes, the new campaign aims to highlight research transformation in the context of how:

• Research data can be transformed into actionable insights;
• The changing role of research is affecting both those in academia and industry; and
• Exploring innovative ways to make research more open, inclusive and collaborative, will be of benefit to all.

Led by Dr Mark Hahnel (VP of Open Research at Digital Science) and Simon Porter (VP of Research Futures), the campaign will seek to extend our understanding of the changes research elicits, and celebrate these changes and how they are made.

“We are keen to explore research transformation from all angles, interweaving stories from the research ecosystem, with our own experiences of research transformation,” Hahnel said. “In this campaign, the steady march of digital transformation in society over the last three decades has led to changes in what it means to be a researcher, careers stemming from research and with the current focus on AI, what it means to perform research today and going forward.”

The focus for the Research Transformation campaign is not just about digital systems, but it is also about people and organisations – exploring links between research and industry, highlighting emerging research sectors, seeing how new narratives are created and how we adapt to the possibilities those changes bring.

“There is an art to transformation, and understanding the mechanisms of transformation places us in the best position to take advantage of the opportunities ahead,” said Porter. "We have always sought to be an integral part of research transformation, aiming to provide products that enable the research sector to evolve research practice – from collaboration and discovery through to analytics and administration.”

“Every product and service that Digital Science has introduced to the market has not only addressed a need, but has also been an invitation to transform practices within the sector. We feel we have considerable expertise in considering research transformation, and look forward to an engaging conversation with the research community – particularly in this rapid period of evolution that we find ourselves in.”