Hacky Hour

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Hacky Hour

Queensland currently has Hacky Hours at seven universities.

Hacky Hour occurs regularly and its aim is to help researchers (staff and students) with research computing related problems.

Hacky Hour is free, informal and all researchers are welcome to drop in for advice, or offer their IT expertise to help others.

Researchers attend Hacky Hour to ask or answer research-related IT questions. Popular topics for discussion include high performance computing (HPC), cloud computing, general programming, R, Python, data processing, data storage, and data management.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of Queensland’s Hacky Hours moved online. See each institution’s Hacky Hour section below for more information.

Check the relevant Hacky Hour’s Twitter feed, if there is one, for updates as occasionally a Hacky Hour is cancelled for a particular week when the regular IT experts are unavailable.

Please note: Most Hacky Hours end for the year in early to mid-December, and usually resume in late January or early February the following year. Check the relevant Hacky Hour’s Twitter feed (if there is one) or this webpage for updates.

Want to set up a Hacky Hour at your institution?

Amanda Miotto, QCIF’s eResearch Analyst at Griffith University, has created a Hacky Hour Handbook. Amanda co-founded Griffith’s Hacky Hour in August 2015.


Day: Tuesdays
Time: 3pm–4pm
Location: Café Nano, St Lucia campus Currently online — see details below
Twitter: @HackyHourStLuc
Contact: rcc-support@uq.edu.au

Please note during the COVID-19 crisis: UQ’s Hacky Hour will be held online via Zoom on Tuesdays, 3pm–4pm. Please email RCC (UQ’s Research Computing Centre) Support for the Zoom ID: rcc-support@uq.edu.au. The ID is the same for each session, so once you have it, you can use it again to join in. Please note that the ID changed in mid-May 2022, so you will need to email rcc-support@uq.edu.au for the new one.

Summer 2022/2023 holiday dates: UQ Hacky Hour’s last 2022 session was on Tuesday, 6 December, and the first 2023 session will be on Tuesday, 14 February.


Day: Wednesdays
Time: 12pm–1pm
Location: Join online
Twitter: @hackyhourUSQ
Contact: hackyhour@usq.edu.au

Summer 2022/2023 holiday dates: UniSQ Researcher Hour’s last 2022 session will be on Wednesday, 21 December, and the first 2023 session will be on Wednesday, 4 January.


Day: Thursdays
Time: 10am–11am
Location: Cafe Rossa’s, Nathan, or Cafe Rossa’s, Gold Coast. Griffith’s Hacky Hour alternates weekly between the Nathan and Gold Coast campuses. Check @hackyhourGU on Twitter for updates.
Twitter: @hackyhourGU
Website: griffith.edu.au/hackyhour
Contact: hackyhour@griffith.edu.au

Summer 2022/2023 holiday dates: Griffith Hacky Hour’s last 2022 session was on Thursday, 20 October. There will be a one-off virtual Hacky Hour on Thursday, 5 January 2023 at 10am AEST to capture any researchers seeking support related to work conducted over the Christmas and New Year period. Following that, Hacky Hours will alternate between the Nathan and Gold Coast campuses as follows:

  • Nathan campus commencing 10am, Thursday, 12 January 2023, to occur fortnightly.
  • Gold Coast campus commencing 10am, Thursday, 19 January 2023, to occur fortnightly.

Day: Thursdays
Time: 2pm–3pm
Location: Online via Zoom. Researchers can register and obtain the link via Unihub.
Twitter: @QUTHackyHour
Contact: hackyhour@qut.edu.au

Summer 2022/2023 holiday dates: QUT Hacky Hour’s last 2022 session was on Thursday, 15 December, and the first 2023 session will be on Thursday, 2 February.


Day: Wednesdays*
Time: 3pm–4pm
Location: Online via Zoom.
Contact: Email Jason Bell or Billy Kenzler, QCIF’s CQUni-based eResearch Analysts, for the Zoom link: j.bell@cqu.edu.au, b.kenzler@cqu.edu.au. The Zoom ID is the same for each session, so once you have it, you can use it again to join in.

Summer 2022/2023 holiday dates: CQUni Hacky Hour’s last 2022 session was on Wednesday, 14 December, and the first 2023 session will be on Wednesday, 18 January.

*In 2023, CQUni extended Hacky Hour from bi-monthly to weekly.

Note: JCU calls these sessions “Research Hour”
Day: Wednesdays
Time: 10am–11am
Location: Online (Zoom link in the “Website” section below)
Twitter: @JCUHackyHour
Website: https://www.jcu.edu.au/eresearch/services#research-hour
CodeR-TSV Website: codertsv.github.io
Contact: eresearch@jcu.edu.au 

Please note: JCU’s Hacky Hour also runs a Slack workspace, which runs in parallel to CodeR-TSV, a thriving student-driven initiative put together by diehard, code-writing scientists who use R (and other languages) to solve a diverse set of problems in their respective fields.

All JCU researchers and HDR students are invited to come along to Hacky Hour and join both Slack workspaces. Whether it is face-to-face or on Slack, the diverse team of experts will provide answers to all research computing and coding questions.

Both Slack workspaces will also feature information about upcoming training, workshops and events.

Summer 2022/2023 holiday dates: JCU Hacky Hour’s last 2022 session was on Wednesday, 14 December, and the first 2023 session will be on Wednesday, 18 January.

Day: Wednesdays
Time: 2pm–3pm
Location: Ground floor of Library, Sippy Downs campus
Contact: Contact Dr Delaney Burnard (dburnard@usc.edu.au)

Summer 2022/2023 holiday dates: UniSC Hacky Hour’s last 2022 session was on Wednesday, 30 November, and the first 2023 session will be on Wednesday, 11 January.

Day: Alternate Mondays
Time: 1pm–2pm Sydney time
Location: Online via Zoom
Website: https://www.aarnet.edu.au/events/cloudstor-clinics
Register: https://aarnet.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIuceitpjMpHdNiyOWlp9f4XDqiSeLya9TC

AARNet runs fortnightly CloudStor Clinics to empower researchers and CloudStor users, catering for absolute beginners through to advanced users from all areas of research. Participants can drop in any time to discuss problems they are trying to solve or issues they would like to address relating to CloudStor.

Day: Alternate Tuesdays
Time: 2pm–3pm Sydney time
Location: Online via Zoom.
Website: https://research.qut.edu.au/digitalobservatory/office-hours/
Register: https://qut.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEvcOqrrjkvHNH2ZqG5yed7Gh15Rp19Vatm

The Australian Text Analytics Platform, the Australian Digital Observatory, and the Time Layered Cultural Map projects are collaborating to provide a regular office hours to support Australian researchers with a broad range of questions related to their research infrastructure.

Summer 2022/2023 holiday dates: The Digital Observatory’s online office has closed for 2022 and will recommence on Tuesday, 17 January 2023.