Could you be a BEAR Champion?

Published: Posted on

We are launching an exciting new initiative to help spread the word about BEAR services. Have you found BEAR services that have helped you in your research? Do you want to help others get access to the secure storage and fast data processing available? Have the BEAR software team helped you to write code? Do you know people who haven’t heard of us?

We are looking for staff and research students at the University of Birmingham who would like to volunteer to become BEAR Champions within their School/Institute and Colleges to provide local expertise about BEAR services.

Who can become a BEAR Champion?
  • Either a researcher/research student who uses a BEAR service on a regular basis or
  • Staff who support research and use a BEAR service on a regular basis eg. a Project Manager using BEAR DataShare to share research group files with external collaborators
  • You need to be passionate about the service you use
  • You need to have a good awareness of all the BEAR services available
  • You need to be able to communicate widely within your School and/or College so that you reach peers outside of your research group
What will be expected of me?
  • BEAR Champions will promote BEAR services by networking with peers in their area and spreading the word about how using BEAR has benefited their research
  • BEAR Champions will gather feedback about any problems or suggestions for improvements in their School/Institute/College
  • BEAR Champions will meet regularly as a community to discuss progress, achievements and any issues
What will I get out of it?
  • Priority access to BEAR training courses including BEAR Carpentries, Nvidia Deep Learning and new upcoming courses
  • Support for attending computing-related conferences such as Computing Insight to enhance your personal and professional development
  • Be the first to know about new services and have your input into their development
  • Access to a researcher peer network with regular BEAR Champion meet-ups
  • Boost your CV with transferable skills to support your career progression both within and outside academia
  • Become more visible by having your BEAR Champion profile created on the University of Birmingham BEAR website and be promoted via our Twitter page
  • A BEAR Champion laptop rucksack, t-shirt and pin badge (see below)
Debbie & Simon modelling the BEAR Champion pin badge, polo shirt and laptop rucksack (bear ears are model’s own :-))
How to apply

If you’re interested, please download our application form and return to us at bearinfo@contacts.bham.ac.uk