In this guest blog post, Marco Dalla Vecchia, image analyst at Imaging & Optics Facility of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) shares his experience of the first Open Software Week.
A Personal Perspective on the Open Software Week#
It’s already been almost a month since I returned home to Vienna from a fantastic week in London for the first edition of Open Software Week (OSW) organized by the Neuroinformatics Unit and held at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre.
OSW was a celebration of knowledge and experience exchange merged with neuroscience applications and best practices in Python programming. If you are at all into open-source, education, programming or neuroscience, you don’t want to miss the next iteration of the course (which hopefully will become a yearly appointment)!
A group photo of the participants and organizers of OSW2025. Photo by Adam Tyson.
In this perspective piece, I wanted to go through some personal opinions on a few aspects of the event.
The Program#
OSW consisted of an impressive program, escalating from an introduction to Python fundamentals all the way to advanced neuroscience Python applications and even a hack-day dedicated to nourish an open-source spirit of contribution and to problem-solving.
While every single session would have deserved attendance, I have to limit my perspective on the sessions I actually followed. I opted for the BrainGlobe track and the Big Imaging Data track. The Animals in Motion track attracted many participants and I really wish I could have joined both tracks in the first half of the week!
I loved the fact that the BrainGlobe program was all hands-on, with a lot of coding exercises and practical examples. Needless to say, this wouldn’t have worked without excellent instructors and teaching assistants all throughout the course. Personally I found it a bit of a pity that most of the material was already present in the excellent BrainGlobe tutorials, but that didn’t take away from the many chances I got to interact with other participants, each with their own data to wrangle and explore. It was also perfect for many participants who were exposed to the package and its capabilities for the first time.
I also enjoyed the Big Imaging Data track more than I thought I would. I was already familiar with some of the packages presented (like napari, dask and zarr), but I learned so much more from the hands-on exercise on Zarr export and from the discussions happening in the room. I absolutely loved the fact that many experts from different fields all working with Zarr and other scientific fields came along for this track and gave their perspective.
While OSW centered around BrainGlobe and Movement, two of neuroscience-focussed packages maintained by the Neuroinformatics Unit, the event had a surprisingly vast amount of event variety (one might not expect). Towards the end of the week, sessions on career discussions, fundamentals of version control with Git, and even a speed blogging event were weaved together in extremely attractive program for all types of profiles and experience levels.
Although not part of the official program, I appreciated how the NIU team thought of organizing a few social events in the evenings, which were perfect to unwind and get to know each other better. There was a social activity every evening of the week, from a walk through Hyde Park to a OSW-inspired pub quiz, to even some code-along synthetic music event in a pub! Thank you for that, it was surely something!
Overall, the program was extremely well thought out and organized, with a perfect balance between lectures, hands-on exercises, breaks, and social events. A few details to iron out are always there, but that’s to be expected for a first edition of an event.
The People#
We need to talk about the people. This was my first time attending a non-standard conference, and I was blown away by the friendliness, openness, and willingness to help of everyone I met. From the first few minutes waiting for the event to start to the last goodbye, I felt much more welcomed and included than at any other conference or other scientific event I attended in the past.
There is something about open-source communities that makes them so special. I think the idea of working together with people from across the world, sharing knowledge and resources, and building something together, changes the way we think about science and collaboration and the way we interact with each other. I felt that spirit of collaboration and openness throughout the entire week, and it was truly inspiring.
I also loved interacting with many of the other participants, who came from all over the world and had different backgrounds and experiences. It was amazing to see the different phase of their careers, their field of expertise and their problems that needed solving. I helped some, got help from others, and made some great connections. Thank you everyone!
My last remark on the people has to be on the knowledge, expertise and know-how of the NIU team. People like this don’t come along every day, and I feel extremely lucky to have had the chance to learn from them. Their passion for open-source, education, and neuroscience is contagious, and it’s driven by a strong competence and professionalism unique to few. I am very grateful that not only the course, program and organization was top-notch, but also the people behind it.
The Experience#
It’s pretty clear by now that I had a great time at OSW, but I wanted to highlight a few aspects of the experience that made it so special.
SWC was a great hosting venue, with a great location in the heart of London, and all you need to run a successful event. There were a few hiccups here and there (like Wifi, plugs and moving between floors for different sessions), but nothing that would have ruined the experience.
I need to highlight the food. I am not exaggerating when I say that the food was wonderful, and it was sooo much. We were spoiled with a good variety for all lunches and coffee breaks, and there was always leftovers as it was sooo much food. Thank you to the catering team, you made us all very happy and well fed!
I also personally loved the use of Zulip as a communication tool during the event. It was perfect for asking questions, sharing resources, and interacting with other participants and instructors, also real-time or outside the sessions. Instructors were very responsive and the fact that the Zulip channel will stay alive and open after the event makes it easier to keep in touch with everyone and reducing the barrier to create discussions and to contribute to projects. I know some people might find it a bit overwhelming or clunky at first, but I personally found it very useful and relatively easy to get used to.
I finally want to bring up again the inclusivity topic. My main struggle point of many social events is to start conversations, break the ice and get to know people. The NIU team, made it so easy to avoid all the typical social barriers, with a few tips:
My favorite new social rule: the Pacman Rule
Stickers for names
Every instructor introducing themselves to every new participant and bridging participants to each other
A clear and official code of conduct explained and referred to from the beginning
General positive vibes in regards to mistakes, questions and learning
The Extra Stuff#
Let’s conclude with a few extra things, that made the whole things even more special!
As part of the program, we had a chance to visit the Advanced Microscopy Facility at SWC, which as a microscopist and image analysis was awesome. I loved seeing the few-in-the-world serial section imaging systems, how the team works together and the excellent support they provide to the neuroscientists.
At some point during the week, we made a second visit to the facility, in which we had the chance to see a real crab brain recently being extracted and prepared! Who would have guessed?!
It was unexpectedly fun to work in groups on the speed blogging event at the end of the week. I kid you not when I say I have never seen so many experts in one room so focused on writing their piece of text. So much in fact that barely anyone got coffee during the breaks! I am very curious to see the final results of such blogs, there is the chance that some of them will be published in the Software Sustainability Institute website or even on the FocalPlane blog!
Conclusion#
Without exaggeration, I came home a little changed person. Not only I learned how to be a better programmer, software developed and open-source contributor, but I also learned how to be a better scientist, educator and a overall human being.
I learned so much, met so many great people, and had a lot of fun. I am very grateful to the NIU team for organizing such a fantastic event, and I am already looking forward to the next edition of OSW!