Demonising the researchers who published the death toll modelling for COVID-19 could suppress openness in academia, warn research software leaders at the universities of Southampton and Edinburgh.

Professor Simon Hettrick, Co-Director of Southampton Software Research Group, and Neil Chue Hong believe that the heavy criticism of Professor Neil Ferguson’s virus transmission modelling could discourage openness of future academic software.

Writing in Research Fortnight, the leaders of the Software Sustainability Institute (SSI) urged society to celebrate researchers who publish their code – rather than attack them.

Professor Ferguson and his team at Imperial College London forecast that 250,000 people could die from COVID-19 in the UK without drastic action, contributing to the government’s decision to impose a long-lasting nationwide lockdown.

The model’s influence has triggered intense scrutiny of its code which the researchers say has put Professor Ferguson’s personal and professional life “through the wringer”.

“The affair has seen legitimate scientific concerns and debate mixed up with efforts to undermine the lockdown and deflect responsibility for policy decisions,” they say. “But most of those criticising Ferguson for sharing his code too late probably don’t realise that sharing software at any time is far from the norm in academia.

“Fundamentally, this is because most researchers don’t have the necessary skills, and those who do lack any incentive to invest the necessary time.

“Even those who publish their software have little reason to clean up and document their code for release, and support it afterwards. Researchers are judged on their publications, not the quality of their code. With no incentives, and amid an already busy schedule of research, teaching and administration, time is too precious to expend on software.”

The SSI Director and Deputy Director underline that openness is vital improve the recognition, reproducibility and reusability of research software, however this will not be incentivised through “toxic” behaviour.

“Criticise software by all means, but bear in mind that its author is likely to be under-resourced and their work with software under-appreciated,” they say. “If we attack researchers who take the plunge and make the effort to release their code, we will only drive fewer to publish their code.

“We must accept that trust in research is inexorably tied to trust in software, and use this to lead the research community to adopt better software engineering practices. A good first step would be to applaud researchers who are brave enough to publish their code.”

Internet services provider Netcraft has been honoured with two successes in the Queen's Awards for Enterprise.

Netcraft, a longstanding affiliate company in the Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) Careers Hub, is one of just three businesses to receive awards in both of the scheme’s Innovation and International Trade categories.

Director Mike Prettejohn has praised the 'substantial contributions' of ECS graduates and interns to the services that have won these awards. which represent the highest UK Government award for British businesses.

The company has sponsored prizes to the top 10 second, third and fourth year Southampton Computer Science students for over a decade, offering a monetary award and summer internship opportunities.

Netcraft provides countermeasures against many forms of cybercrime. The company's approach reduces the cost of dealing with one extra attack to near-nil, and introduces transparency, consistency of process and relentless incremental refinement.

The business has continued to trade successfully since the advent of coronavirus, and so far has disrupted over two thousand coronavirus related cybercrime attacks. "Although our clients are spread around the world, we recruit locally," Director Mike Prettejohn says. "Year after year ECS students have made substantial contributions to the services that have won these awards."

Joyce Lewis, ECS Careers Hub Director, says: "Many congratulations to Netcraft on this outstanding recognition. We are very proud of our longstanding partnership with the company which has benefited hundreds of our students over the years, providing them with the opportunity to be part of a company at the forefront of business-focused and crucial technology innovation."

The Queen's Awards for Enterprise are awarded on the Queen's Birthday each year and recognise considerable progress sustained over a six year period. This year, 128 companies received a Queen's Award for International Trade and 66 companies a Queen's Award for Innovation.

Netcraft's Queen's Award for International Trade recognises how the business evolved from the internet infrastructure industry to a broader community of banks, financial services and other large enterprises in over 50 countries, including five of the world's 10 largest companies by market capitalisation and 11 of the top 50 banks worldwide. The Queen's Award for Innovation has been credited to the company's cybercrime disruption services. In the UK, these are used by the British Government and seven of the eight constituents of the FTSE-350 Banking index. The same services underpin the growth in exports reflected in the International Trade award, representing a force for good across the whole internet. Netcraft now provides countermeasures against some 75 different forms of cybercrime and, on behalf of customers, disrupts at least a quarter of all phishing attacks worldwide.

Electronics students from the University of Southampton have secured a record number of competitive industrial scholarships from the UK Electronics Skills Foundation (UKESF).

UKESF Scholarships have been awarded to 21 Southampton students this spring, representing over a third of all those awarded to the 22 universities in the scheme.

The tally exceeds a previous record of 18, also held by Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) at Southampton in both 2014/15 and 2015/16.

UKESF Scholarships boost students' career prospects through a £1,000 annual bursary and paid work placements and mentoring from a leading employer in the electronics sector.

Around 140 ECS students have received scholarships over the scheme's 10-year history, connecting and building relationships with 36 different sponsoring companies.

Professor Geoff Merrett, Director of Outreach and Recruitment at ECS, says: "The UKESF Scholarships are an excellent opportunity for students to gain industrial experience, professional skills, and prepare them for their future careers.

"I'm delighted that so many of our students have benefited from the scheme over the past decade, and look forward to their continued success over the years to come."

Over a quarter of all scholarships have been awarded to Southampton students in the scheme, more than twice that of any other university.

Four times as many ECS students applied for scholarships this year compared to any other university. Around 30% of scholarships were awarded to female students.

Stewart Edmondson, UKESF CEO, says: “This year we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the UKESF and of our undergraduate scholarship scheme. Throughout the whole 10 years, we have had fantastic support from the University of Southampton.

"Importantly, they have been amazing advocates for our Scholarship Scheme and have really encouraged their students to get involved. The amazing number of the ECS students doing so, year on year, is testimony to this encouragement and support.

"It has been a genuine pleasure to meet all of the Southampton Scholars during scholarships, especially at our residential workshop; I am always so impressed by their enthusiasm, commitment and professional attitude. The success that they have all achieved is richly deserved and bodes really well for their future in electronics."

Southampton witnessed a significant increase in its success rate this year, with 50% of those interviewed receiving an offer. ECS made a concerted effort to best prepare students for interview, including a talk from Jon Older, Director of Business Development at ITDev.

"I'm really pleased to hear of the increased success – congratulations to all students," he says. "I think it's a great reflection on the calibre of the students and the efforts put in by the University."

The quality of ECS students is also reflected through the UKESF's Scholar of the Year Award. Third year MEng Electronic Engineering student Hugo McNally was named joint UKESF Scholar of the Year in November, becoming the sixth Southampton student to win the honour in the past nine years.

Graduated Southampton Scholar Nathan Ruttley has also drawn praise in recent weeks for his efforts to help address the COVID-19 pandemic. The entrepreneurial engineer is using his company’s laser cutter to produce headbands for visors that will go to frontline NHS staff.

Professor Dame Wendy Hall has been appointed as Chair of the Ada Lovelace Institute.

The Regius Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton will commence a three-year term on Monday 1 June, succeeding Sir Alan Wilson.

The Ada Lovelace Institute is an independent research body with a mission to ensure data and AI work for people and society.

Dame Wendy says: "I am very excited to be offered this opportunity. I have been very impressed with what the Institute has achieved since its inception and the commitment of the Nuffield Foundation to its development.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for me to work with Carly Kind, Director of the Ada Lovelace Institute and her team to help ensure the Institute continues to make a significant impact in the world of AI and data ethics by taking an evidence-led approach to the development of policy and practice in this area, which is something I am passionate about."

One of the world's foremost computer scientists, Dame Wendy plays a leading role in shaping science and engineering policy and education in the UK and internationally. She is the UK’s first AI Skills Champion and Executive Director of the Web Science Institute.

She has also recently been appointed to the board of Digital Jersey and will take up the position of non-executive director from Wednesday 1 July.

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