---
title: "Online Collaboration Cafe"
source: The Turing Way
source_url: https://github.com/the-turing-way/the-turing-way
licence: CC-BY-4.0
domain: data-and-analysis
subdomain: turing-way
date_added: 2026-04-25
---

(ch-community-calls-collabcafe)=
# Online Collaboration Cafe

```{figure} ../../../figures/collaboration-cafe.*
---
height: 500px
name: collaboration-cafe
alt: Cartoon-like sketch in a green, teal, and orange colour scheme, with three main elements. First, in the centre of the image is a large maple leaf, where it's interior has been sectioned into four panels. Each panel has an individual contributing to a collaboration cafe. All individuals are facing each other, by looking diagonally towards the center of where all four panels join. The individuals are (in the top left) holding a physical copy of a document, (in the bottom left) holding a mug, (in the bottom right) holding their hand up and raising their index finger, gesturing to bring something up. The maple leaf also has a green banner below reading "Collaboration Cafe". Secondly, there is an oval element, connected, via a continuous line, to the top right portion of the maple leaf. In this oval element, 5 individuals are sitting on a leaf-shaped table, in discussion. Lastly, there is a second oval element, connected via a continuous line, to the top left portion of the maple leaf. This oval has someone overlooking their laptop, which has a video call on the screen, with one person in the video call being enlarged and two others also being part of the call
---
_The Turing Way_ project illustration by Scriberia. Used under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. DOI: [10.5281/zenodo.3332807](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3332807).
```

_The Turing Way_ Collaboration Cafes (or 'Cafés' with an accent) are virtual co-working space.
The schedule will be updated periodically on our [Community Calendar](#ch-community-calls-calendar) as per the community requirement.

We host these calls online using [Zoom](https://www.zoom.us/) where we make use of the [breakout rooms](#ch-coworking-collabcafe-breakout) feature to allow small groups to use the time as best fits them.
One or two members from the core team are always available on the call to support anyone wanting to learn more about collaborating on GitHub, getting a virtual tour of our GitHub repository or the book, and helping you to make your first pull request (PR).

## Attending an online Collaboration Cafe

Though scheduled for 2 hours, we understand that for many interested participants, it might be impossible to commit to the entire 2 hours on one or multiple occasions, therefore, you are welcome to join for as long as your schedule allows.

If the current schedule of the online Collaboration Cafe is not suitable for your time zone, you are welcome to host a separate collaboration cafe for your community/time zone.
Please open a new issue (see [this example](https://github.com/the-turing-way/the-turing-way/issues/684)) or reach out to _The Turing Way_ team members for details.
Continue reading for information on hosting these calls.

### Inviting people to an online Collaboration Cafe

New attendees are welcome to join the Collaboration Cafe, and it is a space where many may encounter _The Turing Way_ project for the first time.
Existing _The Turing Way_ community members may invite their colleagues to join them in a breakout session, called the Pomodoro session in _The Turing Way_ community, to discuss a topic of shared interest or co-work together.

It is important that anyone joining a Collaboration Cafe has an interest in _The Turing Way_ and learning with and feeding back into the community.
If a meeting is on a topic or for a purpose completely separate from "reproducible, ethical and collaborative data science", it may not be the best fit for a Collaboration Cafe.

When inviting new people, please forward the Zoom call for the meeting and the shared document with introduction text like:

Collaboration Cafes are The Turing Way's regular online collaboration and coworking calls where community members work on contributions to the project, discuss shared interests, or learn about how to get involved.
All of our calls adhere to our code of conduct.
Please take a moment to read this [here](#ch-coc).

### Resources used for the call

Here are the resources we use for these calls:

1. Shared notes by [Framapad](https://framapad.org/): You can access these notes online at [annuel2.framapad.org/p/ttw-collaboration-cafe](https://annuel2.framapad.org/p/ttw-collaboration-cafe) and can take notes together with others on the call.
2. Online call by [Zoom](https://www.zoom.us/): The Zoom link is provided in the Framapad before the call, and members can click to join the call by opening the Zoom window on the web or by using the Zoom app that should be installed locally ([available for free](https://zoom.us/download)).
3. An online Pomodoro clock on [Cuckoo.team](https://cuckoo.team/collabcafe): During the call, the clock is set for Pomodoro work intervals that can be live-tracked by everyone through their browsers.
4. Video recordings from some of the earlier calls are available on [our YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPDxZv5BMzAw0mPobCbMNuA).

We coordinate our tasks on the shared Framapad and/or _The Turing Way_ GitHub repository, where we can work collaboratively or independently while working on older GitHub issues/PRs, creating new issues/PRs, taking notes as comments on the GitHub repository or working on a branch locally.

## Format of the call

We have a template for the {ref}`Collaboration Cafes<ch-template-coworking-collabcafe>`, which is updated on the shared notes for each call.

**Bonus**

You can watch this video to see Kirstie and Malvika plan the structure and format of Collaboration Café.

::: {iframe} https://www.youtube.com/embed/XUw5kpypeo8
:width: 100%
:::


### Schedule

Our schedule has evolved since 2019 to account for the different ways in which people work within the community. 
Instead of the "enforced" closing of breakout rooms after each Pomodoro session, which was sometimes perceived as disruptive to ongoing conversations or planning sessions, we keep the breakout rooms open for two consecutive Pomodoro sessions. 

_The Turing Way_ community has adhered to a cadence of un-enforced and enforced breaks since 2023, using the following schedule: 

| Time | Activity |
| ---- | -------- |
| 10 mins | Introductions and Needs for Rooms |
| 20 mins | 🍅 1st Pomodoro session |
| 5 mins | ☕️ Break - **not enforced** |
| 20 mins | 🍅 2nd Pomodoro session |
| 10 mins | ☕️ Break - **enforced: 1hr mark** |
| 20 mins | 🍅 3rd Pomodoro session |
| 5 mins | ☕️ Break - **not enforced** |
| 20 mins | 🍅 4th Pomodoro session |
| 5 mins | 👋 Wrap up: celebrations, reflections and future directions |
| 5 mins | 👋 Close |

### Chairing an online Collaboration Cafe

#### Before the Call

- Facilitators of the call, update the shared document ([Framapad](https://annuel2.framapad.org/p/ttw-collaboration-cafe)) before the event using the following steps:
  - Update the date for the upcoming call
  - Move the notes from the previous call below the working area and archive them on the `governance` repository
  - Update an icebreaker question
  - Share the notes on Slack and on X announcing the event

**Want to see how we run these calls?**

We have posted a few videos from our Collaboration Cafés on YouTube.
Watch the video to see how Kirstie hosted the calls when it was first launched.

::: {iframe} https://www.youtube.com/embed/I0z7OEbBzes
:width: 100%
:::

#### During the Call
- Use the notes during the call to share information as you chair the call
- Make sure that you share the Code of Conduct link and use the shared Cuckoo (or other web-based clocks)
- Create breakout rooms for people before starting the Pomodoro
- As the Pomodoro ends, close the rooms, ask for any feedback, and call for a 5 minute break
- Continue the repeated session for 2-3 Pomodoros, leaving the last 15-30 minutes for discussion on what people worked on
- Close the call thank everyone, and archive the notes for the next call

#### After the Call

Please share any feedback from this call with the Community Manager of *The Turing Way*, specifically, if you have any feedback, concerns or ideas for future calls.
You are encouraged to create a Pull Request to suggest improvements to this chapter that can help future attendees and chairs of the Collaboration Café.

#### Beginning

The call begins with the team members welcoming the participants, sharing the Code of Conduct, reminding them how to participate in the call, and setting the stage for quick introductions by everyone.

#### Breaks

We take short breaks after each Pomodoro to discuss what we are working on, ask questions that might help you in your next Pomodoro session, share any errors or progress, and celebrate each other's successes.

We use the last 30 minutes for themed discussion, collaborative troubleshooting, or idea exchange for the project and community.

The welcome, introductions, breaks, and open discussion will all happen in the main room.

#### Pomodoro sessions

Pomodoro sessions can happen either in the main Zoom room in silence or in [breakout rooms](#ch-coworking-collabcafe-breakout).
We won't record the Pomodoro parts of the Collaboration Cafe or conversations in the breakout rooms.
You don't need to know in advance what you're going to do in those Pomodoro sessions!
There will always be someone who can help you develop a goal, or allocate a task that you can do in a couple of rounds of 20 minutes.

#### If joining this call later

During a typical Pomodoro session, attendees are sent to breakout rooms based on the topic they are working on.
If you join later, you will be able to check the remaining time in the ongoing Pomodoro by opening the shared clock in your browser (link should be provided in the shared notes).
You can use that Pomodoro session to sign up, read notes from other attendees in the shared document, and explore what you would like to work on during the next Pomodoro session.

If you know in advance what time you will join the coworking call, you can let the host know before the call or leave a note in the shared document.

#### Recording this call

We may record the call for the part that involves open discussion so that others who can't attend the call can learn from the conversations we have during the Collaboration Cafes.
For this part, you do not have to speak or have your video on if you prefer not to be in the video.
The videos will be uploaded to _The Turing Way_ YouTube channel: [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPDxZv5BMzAw0mPobCbMNuA](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPDxZv5BMzAw0mPobCbMNuA).

### Sign-up and icebreaker

If you're interested in joining the next Collaboration Cafe, please let the organisers know by adding your name to the **Sign Up** section of the HackMD notes page.
Adding your name is helpful for the organisers so they can prepare for the call.
But don't worry if you don't sign up in advance.
It's ok to join at any time for as long as you'd like.

In addition to your names, we will encourage everyone to add a short response to an icebreaker question, that will help us all learn something personal about all the different people on the call.

Here are a few example questions (so you know what to expect):

* What was your biggest achievement this week?
* when was the last time you saw a rainbow?
* what are you most excited about this year?
* what is your favourite flavour in cake/ice cream?

*Do you have another interesting question to ask others?*
*[Get in touch](https://github.com/the-turing-way/the-turing-way#get-in-touch) and let us know!*
*We love creative suggestions!*

Here's an example from the second Collaboration Cafe in September 2019:

> *Name + biggest achievement from this week + emoji that best explain your day*
> *(Remember that this is a public document. You can use a pseudonym if you'd prefer.)*
>
> * Kirstie Whitaker + got a structure written out for an article that had been super hard to get started on! + 🤦‍♀️ (because I got these times mixed up - whoops!)
> * Malvika Sharan + Coming back from holiday, ready for exciting work :D + :grimacing:

As you can see, there's a reminder in the notes that they are in a public document.
It's totally fine for you to add as much or as little information as you feel comfortable sharing.

### Conversation starters

In the **Conversation Starters** section of the HackMD notes, we encourage everyone to advertise their events or give an update from their community.

These don't have to be Turing Way "branded"!
**We want to know about all the cool things you're working on.** ✨

### Good first contributions

We want the Collaboration Cafes to be a place that welcomes new and old members to _The Turing Way_ community.

In brainstorming these events, we imagined that some people may want to add new material that they've created before to the book, others may want to finish a contribution that they've started, and still others might want to learn new skills including _how_ to contribute to _The Turing Way_.
These are **all** great reasons to join us!

We'll always have someone on the team available to help you brainstorm your first contribution, and answer any questions about how to incorporate your work.

Good first contributions might include:

* Finding a typo in the book and/or repository and fixing it.
* Looking for duplicated information in the book and opening an issue to discuss how it can be combined.
* Finding an old issue or PR and try to summarize the discussion so it is easy to decide on the next step.
* Adding your personal experience of reproducible research in the always open google form: [https://goo.gl/forms/akFqZEIy2kxAjfZW2](https://goo.gl/forms/akFqZEIy2kxAjfZW2).

(ch-coworking-collabcafe-breakout)=
### Breakout rooms

Zoom allows groups of collaborators to chat in one "main room" altogether, or to split up - within the same call - and talk with each other in smaller ["breakout rooms"](https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/206476093-Getting-Started-with-Breakout-Rooms).

During the online Collaboration Cafe sessions, we'll use the breakout rooms to allow people to talk about multiple different topics in parallel during the Pomodoro sessions.

You'll see a breakout section in the shared notes:

> **Breakout-rooms-Topic-proposals**
>
> *If you have an idea for a topic you'd like to discuss in a breakout room, please add it below and put your name next to it.*
> *If you like one of the topics that are already suggested, please add your name next to that one.*
> *Teamwork makes the dream work.*
> *For more information about breakout rooms see [the description on The Turing Way](#ch-coworking-collabcafe-breakout).*

For each session, you can propose a conversation to have in a breakout room or add your name to join a suggestion that is already on the list.

You don't have to add your name in advance (although you're welcome to) and you don't have to stay in the breakout room you've put your name next to.

Breakout room conversation topics might include:

* GitHub new user or refresher questions (and answers)
* Finding a good first issue
* Reading and giving feedback on a chapter with the original author
* Reading and giving feedback on a chapter with a new reader
* Brainstorming _where_ your topics could best fit into _The Turing Way_
* Bug squashing - removing barriers (technical and otherwise)

The person chairing the call will put you into the specific breakout rooms for the Pomodoro sessions and then bring you back into the main room for the 5-minute breaks and the broader conversation at the end of the Collaboration Cafe.
