The R Consortium recently interviewed Eli Eydlin, a dedicated R community member who was instrumental in launching an R User Group in Haifa, Israel. With a background in physics and a recent shift to the biotech industry, Eli was motivated to start the group after noticing the lack of a local R community in his new city. Despite Haifa’s relatively small size, it has a diverse R community, including professionals from high-tech companies, academia, and startups. Eli shared his experience organizing their first Meetup, which featured speakers from a wide range of backgrounds, and his plans to make future events more inclusive. His story highlights the importance of community building and the power of initiative, and provides inspiration for others looking to contribute to their local R communities.

Tell us more about your background and involvement with the RUGS group.

I have been working at a biotech startup for almost two years. My background is more in the pharmaceutical sector, but I decided to delve into this new field. When I moved, I noticed that there was no R User Group nearby, although I knew of other groups in other cities and countries that were doing great things. I didn’t like the idea of ​​not having one here, so I decided to start one myself. We just had our first event and I am very excited to be part of this initiative.

Can you tell us what the R community is like in Haifa?

One of the reasons I started this was to meet new people who are also R programmers or users. I already know that the community is very diverse. My city is not huge — about 300,000 people — but it has a lot to offer. There are big high-tech companies like Microsoft and Amazon that support their R&D departments, and I’m sure some of our members are involved. Like in many places in Israel, there are hundreds of small startups. What I find interesting is that people come from all kinds of backgrounds — mostly from academia, as usual, but now also from government, traditional companies, and small businesses. I’m curious to see where this leads.

You had a Meetup on August 6, 2024. Can you tell us more about the topic covered? Why this topic?

We have two completely different topics and two great speakers. Sofia Nazarova is a marine biologist at Israel Oceanographic & Limnological, who also gives private tours. She teaches people about plants and animals, so she is not a programmer. However, she co-authored the first ever R textbook published in Russian, which makes her experience unique. Normally I work with people who are programmers or data scientists, but she is out there in the field, literally working with marine life.

Our second speaker was Adi Sarid, CEO of Sarid Institute LTD, a data science company focused on production and consumption. He is also writing a book on R, this time in Hebrew. It is a completely different experience: he is a business leader working with governments and large companies, and he showed some fantastic examples of practical applications in his talk.

I deliberately chose speakers with very different backgrounds, because that interests me. While organizing the group, I thought about what I wanted to learn and what connections I wanted to make.

Who was the target audience for this event?

To be honest, there was no specific target audience for this event because I didn’t know anyone. I just tried to reach everyone who might be interested in attending. After the first event, I saw a big jump in interest, but only one woman showed up. So for the next event, I want to focus specifically on women and try to figure out what went wrong. It seems like a lot of women are using R, but for some reason they didn’t show up. We’ll address that and improve things in the future.

What techniques do you recommend for planning before or during the event? (Github, Zoom, other) Could these techniques be used to make your group more inclusive of people who cannot physically attend events in the future?

We didn’t use anything for the first event, which we might do in the future. We wanted to stay in touch, especially since we’re in Israel, and it’s important to support each other under pressure. The event went well, but after it was over, I started getting messages from people saying they couldn’t come because they had to spend time with their kids or were afraid of possible safety issues.

I understand the importance of offering in-person gatherings, but I now recognize that it’s not feasible for everyone. So for the next event, we’ll make it easier for people to attend remotely, perhaps via Zoom or a similar platform. We’ll also hold events in safer locations. It’s clear that while in-person events are valuable, they’re not always possible or appropriate for everyone.

We’d like to get to know you better. Can you tell me a little bit about yourself? Like hobbies/interests or anything else you’d like to share about yourself?

First of all, I have a background in physics and a master’s degree in it. I recently switched to the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, which was a new and exciting challenge for me. My interests have always been diverse and I am particularly fascinated by this field, as well as the natural beauty of Israel, especially the trees. On a different note, I am also a harmonica player, which is another passion of mine.

Please feel free to provide any additional details you would like to include in the blog.

I want to take the initiative with the R Consortium and contribute to their efforts. I see how cool and relatively easy it is to organize such a group. Focusing on developing countries is important, but it is also relevant here in Israel, even though we are relatively wealthy. What motivated me was seeing others taking action, and I realized that I also had to step forward and organize a group. The tools and support that the R Consortium provides are incredibly useful in bringing people together. So I wanted to thank you for that.

How do I become a member?

The R Consortium’s R User Group and Small Conference Support Program (RUGS) provides grants to help R groups organize, share information, and support each other worldwide. We’ve provided grants for the past four years, with over 68,000 members in 33 countries. We want you to get involved! Cash grants and meetup.com accounts are awarded based on the intended use of the funds and the amount available for distribution.

The post Building Bridges in Haifa, Israel: How Haifa’s New R User Group Is Creating a Diverse R Community appeared first on R Consortium.

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