19-Feb-2024
ARIA (Access to Research Infrastructure Administration) was established by Instruct-ERIC to enhance the access proposal process, making it simpler for researchers to submit proposals and access integrated structural biology technologies and services.
The ARIA development team continues to work hard to update and progress the system, whilst adapting it to the ever-changing needs of the global structural biology community, as well as a host of Horizon Europe projects. The latest release, 2.17.0 – 2.17.4, is no different, with several updates to the system which will benefit researcher, as well as administrators. If you have any requests for new features or updates, please contact support@instruct-eric.org.
Instruct-ERIC Website
The Instruct website has undergone several updates to improve accessibility and speed. Most notable of these is that Instruct service pages now display whether the technology and machinery is available remotely, or just for in-person visits. Most Instruct services are available for remote access, and as part of the eRImote project this has developed further for several research infrastructures.
In addition, as researchers browse Instruct services and technologies, they can select their chosen service and facility directly from the website. For example below:
The Instruct website homepage has also seen a significant update, with great structural biology images on display from our centres, plus a more navigable introduction to the website.
ARIA Messaging System
The ARIA messaging system now works with multiple user emails, ensuring that users can contact other researchers, or their proposal administrator/moderator directly through ARIA to any of their chosen email addresses. As researchers may utilise multiple email accounts and addresses, it is crucial to not miss any key information about proposals. Note: this update refers only to the messaging system. If an ARIA account is created with a certain email address which is no longer valid, a new account will need to be created in the event of a new email address.
Machinery QR Codes
Facility managers can now generate QR codes for their technology. When a researcher needs to book machinery time, they can simply scan the code and be taken directly to the booking page. Find out more about how to generate the code here.
Proposal Post-Submission
All access routes in ARIA are now able to configure themselves with increased flexibility, with more fields available to access administrators. Once a proposal has been submitted, users will now be notified to fill in the post-submission form. This form allows researchers to display any additional information that came from the visit – we particularly want to see publications and new technologies!
Find out more about the ARIA system here, and explore the help guides for more information on how to use the available tools.
