The sixth annual conference for Research Software Engineering is a primarily in-person conference; after looking into the live-streaming options we made the decision to record all talks but not offer any online interactive component, which you can read more about here.

We realise that we are still dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic which may mean individuals have restrictions on travel and different levels of comfort. We understand that this will affect your decision and ability to travel and attend the conference. 

The conference organisers will not be asking delegates to mask but we would recommend that delegates think about wearing a mask when in large groups like the keynote plenary auditorium. Individuals can make their own decisions about whether or not to wear a mask. Thank you in advance for fostering a non-judgmental conference environment in which people’s individual choice to wear a mask or not is honoured.  We ask that all delegates be respectful of others wearing or not wearing a mask and everyone’s personal space. 

We would suggest that you bring your own hand sanitizer and masks. Some may be available in some venues but we can’t guarantee that both will be available everywhere at all times. 

The conference organisers will not be requiring proof of vaccination from delegates. However, if you have access to an LFT COVID test we would recommend that you test before attending the conference to be sure not to pass on COVID to other delegates.

The conference organisers will not be requiring or providing on-site testing. If you have any LFT tests at home, we would recommend that you bring at least two tests with you for personal use if needed. 

The conference organisers have listed the venues below and asked each venue a set of questions around mask policy, vaccination and ventilation. We hope that this will make your decision whether to travel and attend the conference an easier one to make.  More venues will be added when they have responded to our questions.

Frederick Douglass Centre – Newcastle University 

This is our main conference venue for events from Monday through to Friday. 

  1. Do you have a mask policy? 
    • We no longer have a mask policy in our buildings and it is now up to the individual. In each venue there are masks and sanitizer available to use in reception.
  2. Do you have a vaccination policy? 
    • No, we don’t have a vaccination policy in place for staff or visitors. This is up to individual choice.
  3. What are the ventilation/air quality measures in the building? 
    • The FDC is a very new building completed in 2020. The heating and ventilation system is designed to be very sustainable and manages itself. Fresh air is circulated throughout the building regularly and there are CO2 monitors in each room. If the CO2 is high, this sets off an alarm in the central estates office who then manually circulate more fresh air.  
  4. If you have no ventilation equipment, are you able to open the windows in enclosed areas? 
    • The windows are designed to be opened manually in any of the rooms or communal areas. 
  5. Do you have an additional cleaning cycle in place? 
    • The whole building is cleaned daily in the morning. However we will request that cleaners clean the communal areas including the toilets after lunch for a second clean each day. 
    • Touch point cleaning – there is a dedicated cleaner for each building who is tasked with touch point cleaning regularly throughout the day. This person will clean the lift buttons, door handles and any other common touch points. 
  6. Can delegates take their refreshments/lunch outdoors? 
    • Yes, delegates are welcome to take their food and eat outside if they wish. There is a plaza area with built-in seating in front of the building and you are welcome to sit there during the refreshment breaks and lunch. Delegates are not permitted to take any food or drink (other than water) into the auditoriums, lecture theatres and tutorials rooms. 

Baltic Six restaurant

This is the venue for the RSE Leaders dinner on the evening of Monday 5th September.

  1. Do you have a mask policy? 
    • No, we don’t have a mask policy.  We have been making our decisions regarding covid measures based on government guidelines.
  2. Do you have a vaccination policy? 
    • No, we don’t have a vaccination policy.
  3. What are the ventilation/air quality measures in the building?
    • We keep one window open at all times. Our fire detectors are based on air quality as opposed to smoke due to us being an art gallery. Ventilation will not change automatically.
  4. If you have no ventilation equipment, are you able to open the windows in enclosed areas? 
    • We are restricted on the amount of windows we can open in the Rooftop but we do keep one open at all times so there’s a constant flow of fresh air.
  5. Do you have an additional cleaning cycle in place? 
    • We clean the space once daily but no more than this. 
  6. Can delegates take their refreshments/lunch outdoors? 
    • No, there is no outdoor space. 

Wylam Brewery

This is the venue for the drinks reception on the evening of Monday 5th September.

  1. Do you have a mask policy?
    • No, we longer have a mask policy.
  2. Do you have a vaccination policy?
    • No, we do not have a vaccination policy.
  3. What are the ventilation/air quality measures in the building?
    • We have an aircon unit which has air filters. 
  4. If you have no ventilation equipment, are you able to open the windows in enclosed areas?
    • There are no windows that open but we can leave doors open for ventilation if the weather is good.
  5. Do you have an additional cleaning cycle in place?
    • We clean regularly touched surfaces every 20-30 Minutes.
  6. Can delegates take their dinner outdoors?
    • If the weather is good, we plan to use the outdoor seating area. But if we can’t use the outside area, we will be in the brewery itself.

By the River Brew

This is venue for the casual dinner on the evening of Tuesday 6th September

  1. Do you have a mask policy? 
    • No, we longer have a mask policy.
  2. Do you have a vaccination policy?
    • No, we do not have a vaccination policy.
  3. What are the ventilation/air quality measures in the building?
    • The venue is open-air. 
  4. If you have no ventilation equipment, are you able to open the windows in enclosed areas?
    • N/A
  5. Do you have an additional cleaning cycle in place?
    • We clean regularly touched surfaces every 20-30 Minutes.
  6. Can delegates take their dinner outdoors?
    • The Hawker Market (also known as the By the River Brew) is outdoors by the river and dinner seating is outdoors using group tables and benches. We have a corrugated iron roof but the sides are open to the elements.

Civic Centre Baronial Hall

This is the venue for the conference dinner on the evening of Wednesday 7th September

  1. Do you have a mask policy? 
    • We no longer have a mask policy as all government restrictions have been lifted.
  2. Do you have a vaccination policy? 
    • No, some clients (NHS mainly) request that delegates have a negative lateral flow before attending. Clients also ask that any one with any symptoms do not attend.
  3. What are the ventilation/air quality measures in the building?
    • The Banquet Hall and reception has ventilation, we also occasionally carry out air tests if required. We do have a CO2 monitor and have used it for the Banquet Hall. The ventilation needs to be changed manually if higher CO2 is found.
  4. If you have no ventilation equipment, are you able to open the windows in enclosed areas? 
    • The windows do not open.
  5. Do you have an additional cleaning cycle in place? 
    • We do have housekeeping, cycle cleaning the toilets. If we have reports of any covid illness we carry out deep cleaning.  We still have sanitiser available at the entrance and around the building.  Some visitors to the Civic still wear masks and as with our teams it is a personal choice.