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Back in pictures - Building a community in research engineering

On the occasion of the presentation of the RésIn project results, a number of speakers took part in two round-table discussions on research tools and the promotion of engineers' work in research.

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On 6 February 2025, the Réseau d'Ingénieurs (RésIn) project team organised an event at the Université Paris Cité to present the RésIn project's achievements for 2023 and 2024 and to discuss the sustainability of research tools and the promotion of the work of engineers and research support professionals.

Photography by Caroline Maufroid
Photography by Caroline Maufroid

After an introduction by the Vice-President in charge of research at Université Paris Cité, Anne-Paule Roqueplo, and the Scientific Director of Sciences Po, Christine Musselin, an assessment of the first phase of the RésIn project was presented by Sandra Hamiche and Audrey Baneyx.

Photography by Caroline Maufroid
Photography by Caroline Maufroid

The first round table, chaired by Alina Danciu (Sciences Po, CDSP), brought together Teresa Gomez Diaz (Université Gustave Eiffel), Benjamin Ooghe Tabanou (Sciences Po, médialab), Stéphane Pouyllau (CNRS, Huma Num) and Anne l’Hôte (MESR).

Photography by Caroline Maufroid
Photography by Caroline Maufroid

The four speakers gave an overview of the challenges involved in creating, maintaining and disseminating research tools, particularly following the end of project-based research funding.

As soon as the tools are designed, the way in which they are disseminated and maintained depends on the definition of a mode of governance and the implementation of protocols for disseminating and evaluating research software. Taking account of the entire software lifecycle in project funding is a crucial lever for ensuring that software is maintained, and involves a process of digital literacy in research centres. Among the methods of governance that are desirable for the proper development of research tools, the benefits and obstacles of collegiate governance were mentioned as ways of uniting communities of developers and users and thus guaranteeing the dissemination of tools.

A number of practices are emerging to enhance the value of software assets, such as listing them on a number of platforms and identifying tools for better citation, certification and actions to present and support the use of tools (user guides, workshops, interface design, etc). Making open source tools available to the community and publishing the codes used are two crucial aspects of the research process, and are necessary conditions for ensuring the reproducibility of the results obtained.

Watch the recording of the round table “Création, maintenance et pérennité des outils de la recherche” below

Iframe https://player.vimeo.com/video/1069916637?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479

Video capture and editing by Aurore Papegay

The second discussion, hosted by Hugues Pecout (CNRS, Université Paris Cité), brought together Guillaume Garcia (Sciences Po, CDSP), Félix Terrier (Pépinord), Sandra Guigonis (OpenEdition Center, CNRS AMU, EHESS Université d’Avignon) and Charlotte Dion (Université Paris Cité).

Photography by Caroline Maufroid
Photography by Caroline Maufroid

Publication practices, which are essential for making the work of engineers in research more visible and more valuable, are many and varied and are tending to diversify in the age of digital humanities and open science. This multiplicity stems from the wide range of professions, areas of specialisation and disciplines in which engineers and research support professionals are rooted, as well as from the specific environments and institutions in which they work.

The discussions were structured around questions and the sharing of experiences on these practices. How can the engineering community be supported and trained in the use of formats and tools for this type of publication? What is the role of valorization in the work of engineers in research and what form can it take? How can this type of publication be made more visible? What other media, documents and productions should be promoted, and how should they be disseminated? How can we ensure that they are recognised by the scientific community and are sustainable? What are the effects of the emergence of new platforms, formats and practices for promoting the activities of engineers in research? How can scientific journals address these issues in their evaluation processes and in the composition of editorial boards?

Watch the recording of the round table “Pratiques de publication et de valorisation des travaux d’une communauté professionnelle” below

Iframe https://player.vimeo.com/video/1069919456?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&badge=0&autopause=0&player_id=0&app_id=58479

Video capture and editing by Aurore Papegay

The day ended with a conclusion by Céline Jegat, structural projects engineer at Université Paris Cité, and Amélie Antoine Audo, Director of Studies and Partnerships at Sciences Po, a cocktail reception and a visit to the photo exhibition on the engineering profession.

Photography by Caroline Maufroid
Photography by Caroline Maufroid

Thank you to all the participants for the rich exchanges!

Photography by Caroline Maufroid
Photography by Caroline Maufroid
Photography by Caroline Maufroid
Photography by Caroline Maufroid
Photography by Caroline Maufroid
Photography by Caroline Maufroid

The RésIn project is supported by the ANR and l’État au titre du programme d’Investissements d’avenir programme as part of the IdEx Université Paris Cité - Sciences Po (ANR-18-IDEX-0001).