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.

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 mid to 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: Online via Zoom — 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.
Twitter: @HackyHourStLuc
Contact: rcc-support@uq.edu.au

Note: UniSQ calls these sessions “Researcher Hour”
Day: Wednesdays
Time: 12pm–1pm
Location: Join online
Twitter: @researcherhour
Contact: researcherhour@usq.edu.au

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

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

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: eresearch@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.

*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.

Note: UniSC calls these sessions “Research Hour”
Day: Wednesdays
Time: 12pm–1pm
Location: In person – The CAVE (H2 G.15), Sunshine Coast campus. Online – https://usc-au.zoom.us/j/89182014305
Contact: eresearch@usc.edu.au