Coworking spaces traditionally refer to sharing a physical office space. It also applies to online coworking calls, providing a great format for the DSWB community members to work together in an online setting.
Borrowing this practice from The Turing Way, we host virtual coworking calls where members can connect, collaborate, and catch up on their work with DSWB. You can read more about coworking in The Turing Way guide for collaboration.
Schedule¶
The OSPO Now team hosts a 1-hour coworking call each week on Wednesday from 15:00 EAT to 16:00 EAT.
The organisers ensure the smooth running of these calls on Zoom, with breakout room features that can be used by different groups joining during the call.
Current leads include:
- Malvika Sharan, OSPO Now
- Precious Onyewuchi, OSPO Now
We welcome and encourage more community members to get involved in organising and hosting these valuable sessions.
Resources¶
- Calendar Invites: Invitations are shared in advance to help you plan your week. You can subscribe to the DSWB calendar if you haven’t yet.
- Platform: We primarily use Zoom for our calls.
- Documentation: Call notes and relevant information are recorded on our Framapad - Feel free to add your name ahead of the meeting to the Framapad to let us know that you will join.
- Communication: Stay updated and connect with us through our Discord channel. Join and share our Discord joining link with your colleagues who might not be there yet.
Purpose of our coworking calls¶
Our coworking calls serve several key purposes for the DSWB community:
- Facilitating Remote Collaboration: The DSWB partners are located in different parts of Africa and Europe, and collaborate remotely. Coworking calls offer a space and regular opportunity for them to connect with each other and foster a sense of community and shared purpose, even when working from different locations.
- Enhancing real-time interaction: We often work in distributed teams and utilise meetings to share updates. Asynchronous communication, such as via email, WhatsApp and Discord, is helpful but can sometimes be challenging if we want to get something done on time. Coworking calls provide a dedicated time for real-time interaction, problem-solving, and efficient project progress.
- Improving Focus and Task Management: If you’re juggling multiple projects and finding it hard to concentrate on a DSWB-related task, coworking sessions can help you carve out focused work time alongside your peers, promoting accountability and minimising distractions.
- Providing Peer Support: If you’re facing an issue or need assistance with a particular task, such as using GitHub or planning collaborative work, these calls offer a supportive environment to seek input, share knowledge, and collaborate with trusted colleagues.
Who is this coworking for¶
All DSWB members! These calls are open to all members of the Data Science Without Borders (DSWB) community, regardless of their team or location. You can simply show up for any amount of time during this hour.
Call structure and size¶
There’s no limit to the number of participants. We use breakout rooms within our virtual meeting platform to accommodate both focused individual work and smaller group collaborations as needed during the call.
What to expect¶
We host several conversations and coworking through Zoom’s Breakout Rooms for you to work with each other on different aspects of DSWB. These include but aren’t limited to following up with others on DSWB-related work, getting feedback on your upcoming plans, bringing your questions for discussions with other DSWB members or getting some support on your organisation’s use of GitHub. You can also use the quiet breakout room and use this time to catch up on your personal task list for DSWB!
Feedback¶
If you have any feedback, suggestions, or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the OSPO Now team by emailing Precious (precious@osponow
We look forward to seeing you at our next coworking call!