UCT hosts IDIA Research Retreat 2025 to celebrate a decade of collaboration and innovation
The Inter-university Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy (IDIA) marked its 10th anniversary with a three-day research retreat hosted at the UCT’s Graduate School of Business from 4–6 June 2025. Bringing together astronomers, data scientists, software engineers, and institutional partners from across South Africa and abroad, the retreat celebrated IDIA’s achievements while looking ahead to a dynamic future in the MeerKAT+ and SKA era.
The UCT eResearch Centre participated in the event, with our Director Prof Mattia Vaccari contributing to discussions on infrastructure, software development, and science collaborations. The retreat highlighted UCT’s ongoing commitment to driving interdisciplinary research and strengthening South Africa’s position in global data-intensive science.
The programme opened with reflections on IDIA’s founding vision and a decade of progress in building shared infrastructure, including the ilifu research cloud and key visualisation tools like CARTA and iDaVIE. Sessions throughout the retreat explored the rapidly evolving landscape of data-driven astronomy, with presentations spanning topics from the circumgalactic medium to fast radio transients, as well as applications of machine learning and AI in astronomical data analysis.
A dedicated session on the SKA Regional Centres (SRCs) offered insights from both the South African and Australian SRC communities, reaffirming IDIA’s strategic role in supporting these initiatives. The final day of the retreat turned toward future priorities, with open discussions on AI-readiness, pipeline development for heterogeneous arrays, and expanding collaborations with SARAO.
The retreat also showcased cutting-edge science from IDIA partner institutions (UCT, UWC, UP, and others), with lively poster sessions and lightning talks underscoring the depth and diversity of talent in the South African astronomy and data science communities.
As IDIA enters its second decade, the retreat affirmed the institute’s foundational values of collaboration, openness, and innovation while positioning it to meet the opportunities and challenges of the SKA era head-on.
