10 years of helping researchers write better code
In 2026, one of NeIC’s most widely recognised projects celebrates its 10-year anniversary.
Since it was launched in 2016, CodeRefinery has helped thousands of students and researchers across the Nordics learn practical software development skills – from version control and collaborative coding to reproducible research workflows.
The project’s goal has always been simple: help researchers write better code and work more efficiently with software and data.
Filling a gap
CodeRefinery started with a clear challenge in modern research: most scientists rely on software and many write software to support their research, but few receive formal training in software development practices. Under the leadership of Radovan Bast, the early project phases focused on building the brand, training materials, and a community of instructors across Nordic universities and research institutions.
– What I’ve found most fulfilling about CodeRefinery is how it grew from a project into a true community - a place where we share knowledge not just with the broader research world, but with each other, says Bast, who led the project from its start in 2016 until 2024.
Over the years, CodeRefinery has grown into a recognised training programme within the Nordics and beyond, connecting instructors, research software engineers, and researchers from a wide range of disciplines.
The evolution of training events
CodeRefinery’s workshops and other training events have evolved significantly over the past decade. Early events were organised as in-person workshops hosted at universities across the Nordic countries. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the project quickly adapted by moving to a distributed online model, combining livestream teaching with local classrooms and collaborative online note-taking as well as asking and answering questions.
The new format turned out to be highly scalable: what used to be a local workshop for up to 30 participants now became accessible to 100 and more participants. While right after the pandemic the training events remained fully online, classrooms were brought back into the picture later on. CodeRefinery provides the materials and teaching and classrooms provide the “live-stream watching party” with helpers, combining the best of both worlds: reach via the live-stream format, community through the local classrooms.
Today, CodeRefinery hosts two major workshops a year, each nowadays attracting more than 500 participants – primarily from northern Europe, but also beyond. In the latest workshop, organised 17-19 and 24-26 March, the registration number was higher than ever before: 741.
The project also invests a great deal in instructor training. Trainers have the possibility to participate in the Carpentries’ Instructor Training programme, and CodeRefinery runs its own preparation sessions before each workshop. These sessions focus on the principles and practices of collaborative teaching, such as co-teaching, live coding and streaming suitable screenshare setups, shared notes, and interactive learning.
A community-driven effort
One of CodeRefinery’s core strengths is the community.
Much of the teaching and development done in the project relies on in-kind contributions from instructors, helpers, and partner organisations. Some contributors have been involved since the early years, helping shape both the training materials and the teaching approach. More organisations and people have joined along the road, and new partners are warmly welcomed to join the community.
The collaborative model has allowed CodeRefinery to build a sustainable and engaged network of instructors and research software professionals. Currently, CodeRefinery is supported by nine organisations all across the Nordics:
- Aalto Scientific Computing at Aalto University,
- CSC - IT Center for Science Ltd.,
- Center for Humanities Computing at Aarhus University,
- DeiC – Danish e-infrastructure Consortium,
- ENCCS – EuroCC National Competence Center Sweden,
- NAISS – National Academic Infrastructure for Supercomputing in Sweden,
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Trondheim),
- NRIS – Norwegian research infrastructure services / Sigma2 AS,
- University of Oslo, and
- University of Iceland.
From these organisations, currently about 20 people actively work on the project. The time they spend with CodeRefinery ranges from one up to five person months and is provided in-kind, without funding from NeIC. Some team members spend their time on teaching and lesson maintenance while others support the project behind the scenes, organising the workshop, updating or developing new lesson materials, or developing the CodeRefinery manuals. In addition, there are people from other organisations contributing some of their time occasionally or volunteering as helpers during the workshops.
Eyes ahead
Today, CodeRefinery is led by Samantha Wittke, who joined the project as Community Manager in 2024. She started as a volunteer member after visiting a CodeRefinery workshop herself in 2018. Starting in 2025, her contribution as the Project Manager has been provided in-kind by CSC. Under her leadership, the project continues to expand its reach and refine the training model.
– We’re building something together: a community-led project where people from across countries and organizations come together to create training and run workshops on what researchers want to learn about now. It’s not been the easiest journey, but we’re getting there, and the continued interest shows that this work still matters, Wittke acknowledges.
Looking ahead, the ambition is clear: to keep strengthening the community around research software training and ensure that researchers in the Nordic region especially have access to modern software development skills. As research becomes increasingly computational, initiatives like CodeRefinery play an essential role in helping scientists turn code into reliable and reproducible science.