We are very happy to announce the 3rd COSMOS ECR Hackathon
The meeting will take place at University College London in November 2026, hosted by the UCL local team.
The meeting will centre on collaborative coding and problem-solving, giving ECRs dedicated time to bring along technical problems, development work and ideas and work on them together. Alongside the hackathon sessions, the programme will include talks and training covering Quantics development, the new Quantics documentation site, Git and collaborative development, and vocal coaching + public speaking workshop.
About the Hackathon
The main aim of the meeting is to give COSMOS early career researchers dedicated time to work together on coding, software and related research problems.
Participants are encouraged to bring along coding problems, technical questions, development work, workflow issues or ideas that would benefit from discussion and collaborative problem-solving. These do not need to be fully developed projects: the hackathon is intended to provide an opportunity to work through problems together and draw on the experience of other researchers across the COSMOS community.
Alongside the collaborative coding sessions, the meeting will include a number of talks, training sessions and updates. These are expected to include:
- information and training on the new version of Quantics
- updates on current and ongoing Quantics development
- an introduction to the new Quantics documentation site
- practical guidance on Git and collaborative development, including general Git usage, working safely with branches and merges, and the use of work items and milestones
- talks on coding and related research
- a vocal coaching and public-speaking training session with Lydia Shaw from Step Up Speaking
Further details will be added as the programme is finalised.
Registration
Registration for the COSMOS ECR Hackathon is now closed. If you would like to attend, but have not registered, please reach out to cosmosproject@ucl.ac.uk
Registration will help us confirm attendance and finalise the practical arrangements for the meeting.
Location
The event will take place at the UCL Institute of Education (IOE) in Bloomsbury, close to the main UCL campus. The moose indicates the approximate location of the preferred entrance for the IOE - accessed from Woburn Place. The pin for the IOE indicates the main entrance.
Details of the rooms, and how to navigate to them, are available HERE
Programme of Events
The proposed program for the hackathon can be seen with the following link: 3rd COSMOS Hackathon
The meeting will include dedicated hackathon and collaborative working sessions alongside talks, Quantics training and development updates, Git and software-development guidance, and professional-development activities.
A full timetable will be published here once the remaining speakers and sessions have been confirmed.
Travel & Accommodation Advice
Travelling to the UK and Around London
Please see the COSMOS Travel Advice page for information about travelling to London and University College London. The page also provides more General advice about travelling into and around the UK.
Hotels
University College London has recommendations for a number of hotels in the area, within the UCL budgetary guidelines (max £180 per night).
Under 10 mins walk from UCL, in the Bloomsbury area of London, there are the Royal National Hotel and the Tavistock Hotels. These two hotels are part of the Imperial Hotels Group and booking can be made through the Imperial Hotels site.
Near Russel Square (approx. 15 mins walk to UCL) is the Grange Hotels Group comprising 4 hotels. Within the UCL budgetary guidelines are the Grange Beauchamp, Grange Clarendon and Grange Portland. The booking for these can be accessed through the Grange Hotels site.
There are a large number of hotels within walking distance from UCL. Most booking sites will accept Univesity College London (main campus) as a location. Searches near Euston Station and Kings Cross St Pancras Station should also yield some good options. Please note: depending on your preferences, it is worth checking if the rooms have things like shared bathrooms and whether breakfast is available etc.
Previous COSMOS Hackathon Events
Coming soon…