Agile Leadership Training for Digital Research Technical Professionals: An Integrated Pilot

This project addresses a recognised gap in Agile leadership training for digital Research Technical Professionals (dRTPs) across University College, London (UCL) and N8 institutions.

The collaborative pilot integrates three complementary approaches from two partners. The University of Manchester (UoM) provides two courses: Agile Fundamentals, for all dRTPs to build foundational Agile knowledge through gamified, hands-on exercises; and GitHub Tooling for Agile, offering practical experience in Agile workflows and project management, particularly for technical dRTPs. UCL delivers research-project-focused workshops, helping participants explore Agile principles and apply them in their own teams.

Participants can select modules according to role, experience, and learning preferences. Training will be launched via UCL and N8CIR, supporting professional development across member institutions. An embedded evaluation will assess delivery effectiveness and gather participant feedback. Both partners will feed this evidence to the DRIFT project who are developing a curriculum for managing research software projects. DRIFT will use it to refine the agile methodologies module, ensuring it is role-sensitive and informed by tested, real-world training materials for the dRTP community.

By addressing a known skills gap, this project will strengthen RTP leadership, foster collaboration, and produce scalable, openly shared outcomes for the wider dRTP community.