ASReview

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!! 🎄🎅 As 2024 wraps up (seriously, where did the time go?!), we just want to say: THANK YOU. ❤️ 🎁 For screening with ASReview LAB 🎁 For digging into the data 🎁 For training your models 🎁 For contributing to the platform 🎁 For sharing your experiences 🎁 Just… for ENGAGING with us—no matter the context. Every question, idea, and bit of feedback helps us grow, and we couldn’t do it without your constant involvement. YOU are the real MVPs. 🏆 We can’t wait to keep building, collaborating, and growing with you in 2025. Here’s to another amazing year ahead! 🥂

ASReview 2024 in the REMIXXXXXX 💿 Let’s drop the highlights: 💰 Big win: We scored the €1.5M VICI grant to shake up systematic reviews and research workflows. Revolutionary vibes incoming. 🌎 Global stage: From Brazil to beyond, we’ve been globetrotting, connecting with students and experts. Samba meets systematic reviews. 🏆 Recognition: Nominated for the Huibregtsen Prize! Proof that our innovation is turning heads. 👨💻 Community flex: 206 GitHub pull requests, 50 contributors to ASReview LAB, and zero chill in our collaborative spirit. 📈 Growing reach: 625+ LinkedIn followers, 730 email subscribers, and counting. Join the club—everyone’s doing it. 📄 Impact alert: 400+ ASReview-related papers published, 9 policy docs citing us, and shoutouts from big names like the European JRC and ECDC. No biggie. 🎉 Screenathon debut: +12.000 papers screened in 2 days. Crowd power = unmatched. 👕 Open-source drip: ELAS merch dropped. Because systematic reviews should come with style. 2024 set the tone— 2025 is where we level up. ❤️🔥

⭐️ Community Spotlight: Rinus! ⭐️ Meet Rinus, an information specialist who doesn’t do things halfway—if he’s in, he’s all in! When his team started asking whether ASReview was the right tool for systematic reviews, Rinus dove in headfirst to figure it out. Spoiler alert: it is! But Rinus didn’t stop there. He jumped into the ASReview community with the same dedication, spotting bugs, suggesting features, and sharing ideas to make the tool even better. He’s a firm believer in the give-and-take of open source: developers improve the tool based on feedback, and users benefit from those improvements. Rinus’s advice? Don’t sit back waiting for tools to magically solve your problems. Get involved, share your ideas, and help shape the tools you use. Thanks to people like Rinus, ASReview isn’t just software but a community Thank you, Rinus, for your enthusiasm and contributions! 🚀

🚀 Last week at the Utrecht AI Event: We had the pleasure of hosting a thought-provoking workshop that opened the door to a critical conversation, addressing two pivotal questions: Why is open-source essential for building trust in AI-aided systems? and How can universities and industry partners co-create trusted AI tools? 🎙️ The event featured a dynamic 45-minute panel discussion moderated by Rens (ASReview’s founder) and Mélanie (branding and concept development expert). It brought together six brilliant minds, each offering unique perspectives: 👉 Jonathan de Bruin – FAIR Data and Software expert, Universiteit Utrecht Open Science Office 👉 Rob Beffers – IT specialist and ASReview’s community lead at Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu 👉 Tim Christen – Advisor and ASReview user, Federatie Medisch Specialisten 👉 Hans Peeters – Philips collaborator on the EU’s IHI IMPROVE project 👉 Bob Schijvenaars – Senior VP Technology at Digital Science, exploring ASReview integration 👉 Peter Lombaers – Machine learning expert at GlobalCampus and ASReview maintainer The discussion was nothing short of inspiring, weaving together rich insights on trust, collaboration, and innovation in AI. 🙏 A heartfelt thank you to our speakers for sharing your expertise and sparking ideas that will undoubtedly shape the future of AI research and development. We left with fresh perspectives—and plenty to build on together.

The largest AI conference in the BENELUX region has wrapped up after three packed days. From Monday to Wednesday, BNAIC2024, hosted by Utrecht University, transformed the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht into a hub of academic and industry innovation. And guess who was there, front and center? Yours truly—ahem—ASReview. Sure, I’m just some clever code, but let’s not pretend I didn’t feel like the star of the show. Anyway, let’s focus on my fabulous human ambassadors: At our dedicated booth, Jelle Teijema and Timo van der Kuil showcased ASReview LAB, giving attendees a hands-on introduction to our platform. Stickers were also handed out—why stickers? Because they’re adorable, and no one can resist a freebie, that’s why. ✌️ Meanwhile, Tim Christen and Duco Veen stepped up with a killer pitch. 🔥They delved into how ASReview bridges the gap between real-world applications and cutting-edge AI research. Highlights? ⚡️ ASReview’s pivotal role in medical guideline creation through evidence synthesis. ⚡️ How partnerships fuel academic discovery and overcome real-world implementation hurdles. ⚡️ Outreach as the secret sauce, turning real-life challenges into research opportunities to make ASReview sharper and even more impactful. They painted quite the picture, comparing ASReview to the Swiss Army knife of AI—adaptable, essential, and downright impressive (albeit far more practical than your dad’s multi-tool or, in this case, your typical research software). With Friday left to close out the week, we’re calling it: this one’s going in the win column. 🏆🥇

🔦 Community Spotlight: Rianne van der Feen-Kooiman! 🔦 Say hello to Rianne, one of our most active ASReview community members on GitHub! She first found ASReview while hunting for ways to bring AI into her PhD research, while executing a systematic (scoping) review. Now, she’s a true ASReview champion, sharing insights, asking questions, and helping others find their way around. Rianne’s contributions are a perfect example of what open-source is all about: sharing experiences, asking questions, helping others navigate new tools and even offering suggestions for new features. As a nursing educator and researcher in inclusive higher education, she sees ASReview not only as a “research buddy” but also as a place to connect with like-minded researchers. Her commitment to sharing insights has helped others make the most out of ASReview, from finding new methodologies to enhancing their research strategies. For Rianne, open-source isn’t about just consuming; it’s about building. Her advice? Don't only use ASReview—join it! Rianne believes open-source works best when everyone shares what they learn. Thanks to her, our community is richer, and ASReview keeps getting better - creating a space for researchers, students, and innovators to contribute to the future of AI in research. Thank you, Rianne, for your energy and dedication. ⚡️🧡

👩💻🍩 Ready to code, connect, and snack? 🍪👨💻 Join us for the Programming Café on November 28! Whether you’re just starting out or already fluent in R, Python, or any other programming language, this informal meetup is for everyone looking to: ✨ Meet fellow researchers ✨ Improve programming skills ✨ Get help with coding and data challenges Expect short presentations, hands-on project time, and friendly support for all your coding questions. 🚫 Registration isn’t required, but it’s appreciated (because, let’s face it—we NEED to have enough snacks!). So mark your calendar, and come ready to learn and share knowledge in a relaxed setting. Everyone’s welcome, no matter your skill level. See you in two weeks 👋

Ah, Brazil workshops. We thought the tricky part would be running the actual sessions, but nope—turns out the real challenge wasn’t ASReview at all. It was… installing Python. 🐍 So, like any good problem-solvers, we listened to the feedback. And what did we do? We headed straight to the reptile museum to really get to know the Python up close. You know, just to study it in its natural habitat. We might’ve spent a little too long figuring out which one was the right Python, but hey—if that’s not real dedication to audience feedback, we’re not sure what is. Next step? Teaching it to code. ⌨️ Can you spot the Python right away?

Open-source MERCH? You heard that right! Keep an eye out for people wearing ELAS on their clothes. Just like our software, our merch is open-source too. We thought about making hoodies and t-shirts, then realized—you should make your own. The designs are there for you to create your own versions. Want to get started? Head to our GitHub and create your own ELAS merch. So, what will you come up with?

Team Brazil... we couldn’t be PROUDER! 🇧🇷💛 You’re a powerhouse combo of eager students and seasoned professors, traveling the world to share your knowledge through workshops on active learning, systematic reviewing, and the ASReview software. Those hands-on sessions in Brazil have helped local researchers get a grip on how AI can turbocharge the systematic review process—saving them hours of manual work, making the review process more efficient and reliable. Translation: less caffeine required and way fewer sleepless nights. Do you need a hand getting started? Just reach out so we can discover how we can meet your needs. Duco Veen Bruno Messina Coimbra Laurens de Bruin Rutger Neeleman