Difference is good for us

A couple of other interesting things from this week. CiCS was instrumental in organising the 4th HPC@Sheffield event. A one day research computing conference exploring how high performance  computing can help solve global challenges in Physical Sciences, Engineering, Health Care and Social Sciences. There were presentations, posters, vendor displays and demonstrations. unfortunately I could only be there for the opening, but reports are that it went really well.

Yesterday morning I spent 4 hours in a room with a handful of people drafting something. How awful you might think, but no, it was really enjoyable. We were drafting an educational rationale for Diversity at the university. Along the lines of "Diversity creates a richer university experience because:" and then a list of statements. Why we should embrace diversity in all forms - not just the protected characteristics - gender, race, disability - but all forms. Difference is good for us - diverse teams solve problems better and are more creative. It's why we should try and recruit the best person for the team, not just for the job. Not always easy.