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mdap-unimelb.bsky.social
Melbourne Data Analytics Platform (MDAP)
@mdap-unimelb.bsky.social
We're an academic team of Research Data Specialists enabling data-intensive and data-informed research across disciplines
@unimelb www.unimelb.edu.au/mdap
The annual @caa-australasia.bsky.social Digital Archaeology Conference program is out! Keynote 'Visualising Ancestral Futures' by Brett Leavy, Director, Biblie Virtual Labs
2–3 Oct online
Free registration events.humanitix.com/caa-australa...
Program au.caa-international.org/2025-confere...
September 25, 2025 at 5:30 AM
As a researcher you likely assist others to learn new skills, from computational tools to data analysis methods
🔟🎓Ten simple rules for training by researchers for researchers in a rapidly evolving workforce
Via past MDAP trainer Meirian Lovelace-Tozer @ardc.edu.au
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
Ten simple rules for training by researchers for researchers in a rapidly evolving workforce
journals.plos.org
September 25, 2025 at 3:35 AM
While maps may appear an objective narrative, the mapmaker is telling a story through data & design.
Join @emily-fitzgerald.bsky.social & @wearehades.bsky.social to explore maps made with the same data, the stories they tell & what we can learn from them!
rduevents.unimelb.edu.au/event/same-d...
Same data, different stories: How different maps can change the data narrative
A geographic map can be powerful data visualisation, used to explore concepts of place, location, and distance that are inherent in much humanities...
rduevents.unimelb.edu.au
September 1, 2025 at 2:54 AM
Next @wearehades.bsky.social seminar looks amaze, featuring MDAP's resident ‪historian, data-nerd, map maker, & cat lover @emily-fitzgerald.bsky.social
Monday 8 September, 2pm, online, all welcome!
Register rduevents.unimelb.edu.au/event/same-d...
While maps may appear as an objective narrative, the mapmaker is telling a story – using data, design & presentation. In this seminar we'll explore different maps made using the same data and question the stories maps tell – and what we can learn from them!
rduevents.unimelb.edu.au/event/same-d...
Same data, different stories: How different maps can change the data narrative
A geographic map can be powerful data visualisation, used to explore concepts of place, location, and distance that are inherent in much humanities...
rduevents.unimelb.edu.au
August 25, 2025 at 1:55 AM
Reposted by Melbourne Data Analytics Platform (MDAP)
Although the article does focus on the challenges, there are clear benefits to going overseas as a #latinx #researcher: in my case I found my absolute dream job at @mdap-unimelb.bsky.social, The University of Melbourne

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
How to thrive as a Latin American researcher abroad
Four scientists share the emotional toll of pursuing science far from home — and the strategies that help them to protect their mental health.
www.nature.com
August 13, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Are you considering putting in an EOI to our 2026 Collaboration round?
Come along to a collab info session, meet the team, ask questions and chat about your project.
Two sessions, 25 August in person, and 28 August online
Register: www.unimelb.edu.au/mdap/news/co...
Collaborate with MDAP in 2026
From research design and data collection, to analysis, AI and visualisation– work with us to apply creative, innovative and tailored approaches to your data.
www.unimelb.edu.au
August 21, 2025 at 5:31 AM
New research from Jo Birch and MDAP's Robert Turnbull describes their new AI-driven tool #Hespi (short for “herbarium specimen sheet pipeline”), which has the potential to revolutionise access to biodiversity data and open up new avenues for research!
theconversation.com/botanical-ti...
Botanical time machines: AI is unlocking a treasure trove of data held in herbarium collections
Advances in imaging, text recognition and machine learning are transforming what can be done with collections of plants and fungi in herbaria and museums globally.
theconversation.com
August 20, 2025 at 1:52 AM
At our next HASS Taskforce workshop, gain practical experience with user-friendly tools and methods that streamline data management, to make your research data more accessible, reusable, and impactful.
26 Aug, in-person, all day workshop lunch included
rduevents.unimelb.edu.au/event/2318-s...
Sustainable Data for Humanities Researchers
Research data is valuable - we spend time (and often money) in collecting it, and it is fundamental to creating knowledge. Because of this value, w...
rduevents.unimelb.edu.au
August 20, 2025 at 1:47 AM
"Moving overseas is not an easy decision ... Although it offers many career opportunities, such as better salaries and sometimes a higher quality of life, it also comes at a huge cost." MDAP's Dr Mar Quiroga shares perspectives on pursuing science far from home! www.nature.com/articles/d41...
How to thrive as a Latin American researcher abroad
Four scientists share the emotional toll of pursuing science far from home — and the strategies that help them to protect their mental health.
www.nature.com
August 18, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Next @wearehades.bsky.social seminar Claire Loughnan explores #digitalhumanities #criminology & #memorial with Against Erasure, a 3D model of #ManusIsland Detention Centre, preserving collective knowledge of a controversial chapter in AU immigration history
rduevents.unimelb.edu.au/event/agains...
Against erasure: Digital witnessing of the Manus Island Detention Centre
The Against Erasure project developed a 3D digital reconstruction of the Manus Island Offshore Processing Centre, as a multidisciplinary teaching r...
rduevents.unimelb.edu.au
August 10, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Want to see what your research data can do?
Collaborate with MDAP in 2026.
From research design and data collection, to analysis, AI, and visualisation – work with us to apply creative, innovative and tailored approaches to your data.
EOIs close 14 Sep ⬇️
www.unimelb.edu.au/mdap/news/co...
Collaborate with us in 2026
Collaborate with us in 2026
www.unimelb.edu.au
August 7, 2025 at 1:05 AM
In biology, phylogenetics reconstructs evolutionary relationships by analysing how traits are inherited and change over time.

The same technique is revealing the history of the New Testament

📜New research from MDAP's Robert Turnbull!
pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/sci...
Scientific tools are tracing the evolution of ancient biblical manuscripts
In biology, phylogenetics reconstructs evolutionary relationships. The same technique is revealing the history of the New Testament, says a University of Melbourne expert.
pursuit.unimelb.edu.au
August 1, 2025 at 6:06 AM
What does it mean to "harness" AI?
"AI is not just technical or futuristic, it has very real human connections into the deep past" @jamessmithies.bsky.social
July 31, 2025 at 1:19 AM
Hearing from Prof @jamessmithies.bsky.social talking H-STRICT principles for rapid software testing (RSTE):
Human
System Targets
Transparent
Reproducible
Iterative
Contextually informed measures and baselines
Tasks workflows & use cases
July 31, 2025 at 1:05 AM
Prof @jamessmithies.bsky.social, ANU & Founding Director @kingsdigitallab.bsky.social presents ATLAS, an open source ‘test harness’ to evaluate AI in historical research, helping researchers ‘look under the hood’ of LLM-based tools.
31 July in-person & Zoom rduevents.unimelb.edu.au/event/the-at...
The ATLAS test harness: Evaluating LLM-RAG systems for humanities research
The prevailing discourse on Large Language Models (LLMs) suggests that humanities research, like many other fields, is about to be shaped by intell...
rduevents.unimelb.edu.au
July 15, 2025 at 4:51 AM
Good news everyone! MDAP's Robert Turnbull has joined the ERC-COG BICROSS project team @KU_Leuven, exploring multilingual manuscripts and cross-language interactions using AI and other digital tools.
Read more go.unimelb.edu.au/u5cp
Rob's site robturnbull.com
BICROSS theo.kuleuven.be/en/research/...
July 15, 2025 at 4:43 AM
Our next seminar is with Prof @jamessmithies.bsky.social of ANU presenting ATLAS, an open source ‘test harness’ to evaluate AI in historical research, and help researchers ‘look under the hood’ of LLM-based tools
Thu 31 July rduevents.unimelb.edu.au/event/the-at...
The ATLAS test harness: Evaluating LLM-RAG systems for humanities research
The prevailing discourse on Large Language Models (LLMs) suggests that humanities research, like many other fields, is about to be shaped by intell...
rduevents.unimelb.edu.au
July 10, 2025 at 1:31 AM
Location in archaeology: How certain are we this thing was there?
June @wearehades.bsky.social seminar features Sébastien Plutniak presenting on #archeofrag - software to analyse spatial relationships in archaeological sites.
10 June, 2pm - 3pm, Zoom
rduevents.unimelb.edu.au/event/locati...
Location in archaeology: How certain are we this thing was there?
The archaeological space is continuous. Archaeological investigation, as surveys and excavation, is about discretising this space, determining rele...
rduevents.unimelb.edu.au
June 5, 2025 at 3:40 AM
Intro to network analysis with R
Thu 12 June @melbconnect.bsky.social
Explore igraph and learn how to represent and model relational data with graph objects, calculate key network metrics, visualise networks and cluster a network and detect communities.
rduevents.unimelb.edu.au/event/intro-...
Intro to network analysis with R
Are you a researcher and would like to explore, measure, and analyse network structures? This workshop is for you if you: Are a HASS or STE...
rduevents.unimelb.edu.au
June 5, 2025 at 3:34 AM
Hands-on workshop for HASS researchers @ Unimelb working with materials like archives, interviews, and social media data. Learn basic preprocessing tasks using tidy text and common textual analysis techniques. Basic R knowledge required.
26 June, register: rduevents.unimelb.edu.au/event/text-a...
Text analysis with R
Are you a researcher in the Humanities, Arts, or Social Sciences (HASS) and would like to analyse your textual data quantitatively with code, but d...
rduevents.unimelb.edu.au
May 30, 2025 at 4:15 AM
Hands-on workshop for HASS researchers @ Unimelb working with materials like archives, interviews, and social media data. Learn basic preprocessing tasks using NLTK and common textual analysis techniques. Basic Python knowledge required.
11 June, register:
rduevents.unimelb.edu.au/event/text-a...
Text analysis with Python
Are you a researcher in the Humanities, Arts, or Social Sciences (HASS) and would like to analyse your textual data quantitatively with code, but d...
rduevents.unimelb.edu.au
May 30, 2025 at 4:09 AM
Location in archaeology: How certain are we this thing was there?
Next @wearehades.bsky.social seminar, Sébastien Plutniak presents his research and introduces archeofrag, software to analyse spatial relationships in archaeological sites.
10 June, register: rduevents.unimelb.edu.au/event/locati...
Location in archaeology: How certain are we this thing was there?
The archaeological space is continuous. Archaeological investigation, as surveys and excavation, is about discretising this space, determining rele...
rduevents.unimelb.edu.au
May 30, 2025 at 3:01 AM
It's not just about calcium! Most plant milks in Australia aren't fortified with key nutrients like riboflavin and B12.
CI Anita Lawrence & MDAP's Ed Tescari Daniel Russo-Batterham & @kim-doyle.bsky.social examine consumer impacts & rethinking nutrition standards link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Time to consider more than just calcium? The impact on protein, riboflavin, vitamin B12 and iodine intake of replacing cows’ milk with plant-based milk-like drinks—an Australian usual intake dietary m...
Purpose Most plant-based milk-like (PBML) drinks sold in Australia are not fortified with riboflavin, vitamin B12 or iodine. Reduced dairy intake is often recommended for planetary health and the 2013...
link.springer.com
May 26, 2025 at 3:49 AM
📣 New blog post! 📣

Want to gain insights into what our interns learn about during their placements with us? Or maybe you are more interested in the worlds of research ethics and data governance? 🔎

All this is covered in our newest post! Give it a read:
go.unimelb.edu.au/qb8p
Research ethics and data governance: Insights from our intern knowledge sharing session
Knowledge sharing sessions are an important part of MDAP’s internship program. Our recent session delved into the topics of research ethics and data governance, highlighting the importance of these co...
go.unimelb.edu.au
May 20, 2025 at 4:42 AM
A few spots left!
Making research visual: Visualisation design for communicating research and research data
Designed for Humanities Arts and Social Sciences (HASS) researchers and research professionals @ UoM
Tue 27 May, in person @melbconnect.bsky.social
rduevents.unimelb.edu.au/event/making...
Making research visual: Visualisation design for communicating research and research data
Visualisations are so much more than decorations Are you a Humanities, Arts, or Social Sciences researcher or research support staff wanting...
rduevents.unimelb.edu.au
May 20, 2025 at 4:16 AM