As the SKA-Low project progresses and more sub-components are integrated, close collaboration with the integration and testing teams is crucial. In September, the MCCS team attended a planning conference in Perth, where they outlined their goals for the next three months. They also had the opportunity to visit the observatory in Wajarri Yamaji Country, Western Australia, where they saw the hardware they have been controlling from the other side of the world and even spotted their first kangaroos!
During the event, it was suggested that more team visits to Perth would benefit the project. In-person collaboration improves communication, enables real-time problem-solving, and fosters knowledge transfer. It also helps identify assumptions and gaps in the current implementation, ultimately making it easier to address integration challenges more effectively.
These team visits have since commenced and OSL look forward to working closely with project members on site.