Fostering Connection: The Inaugural RDE Summit

I recently had the pleasure of traveling from my home in New Jersey to attend our first Research Data Engineering (RDE) Summit, held at the Climate site in St. Louis. RDE is a new function within Climate Science that acts as a bridge between research and other functions such as engineering, modeling, and more. Considering the newness of our team, it was a great opportunity for many of us to see each other face-to-face for the first time.

I am a firm believer that, when working in a hybrid environment, team building and fostering meaningful relationships are especially important. The RDE Summit allowed me the pleasure of meeting our team members who I otherwise may never have met face-to-face, considering the era of remote work. The first day consisted primarily of meetings and provided me ample opportunity to interact with and get to know our colleagues. I am continually impressed by their hard work and talent. 

The second day began with a tour of the impressive Bayer breeding facility in Chesterfield, where big ideas and experimentation are turned into reality. Within RDE we work hard and play harder – we concluded our second day watching the Cardinals vs Nationals game at Busch Stadium, followed by food and drinks at Urban Chestnut. This was a fantastic opportunity to socialize with our Climate Science leadership team, as well as our RDE leadership team. These leaders and innovators work hard and promote genuine connections, resourceful collaboration, and people-first leadership, and I am always appreciative of the opportunity to connect with them.

Our third day wrapped up with a visit to one of Climate’s research farm sites near Springfield, Illinois. The team there did an amazing job showing us the end-to-end process of conducting corn and soy trials using Climate FieldView capabilities. It was an excellent reminder of the power that can be found in experiencing the impact of our work firsthand, and truly exemplified the central vision – “Health for All. Hunger for None.” I would strongly encourage any technical-minded folks who are searching for more meaningful and purpose driven opportunities to visit our career center and apply. RDE is growing, and in-person connections are more valuable than ever; I feel truly fortunate to be a part of an organization that supports these connections at every opportunity.