draft for 2023 blog post

content/blog/2023-end-of-year-post.md

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+title = "2023 in review: A milestone year with our first office hour"
+description = "As we are wrapping up the year, it's a great moment to look back at what we have achieved in 2023"
+date = "2023-12-23"
+
+[extra]
+authors = "Bente Barge"
++++
+
+## New team members
+
+Our team has grown, welcoming two new team members at the start of the year:
+Magnar Bjørgve and Bente Barge. Both Magnar and Bente have a background in
+theoretical chemistry and hands-on experience with research software, enriching
+our group with their knowledge and fresh perspectives.
+
+
+## Office hours
+
+We started the year with our first office hours, which we held on January
+25th. Since then, we have been available for researchers and students to drop
+by with their programming challenges most Wednesdays. The consistent turnout
+underscores a clear need for this service on campus. This format has proven to
+be a great way to attract new users and to communicate with UiT researchers and
+students. The feedback from our users has been incredibly encouraging, and we
+are proud of what we have achieved so far!
+
+
+## Projects
+
+Each challenge brought to us has been a learning opportunity, both for the user
+and for ourselves. Our users are associated with a range of departments at UiT,
+including the Department of Language and Culture, the Department of Arctic and
+Marine Biology, the Department of Physics and Technology, the Department of
+Chemistry, and the School of Business and Economics. Throughout the year, we
+initiated a total of almost 20 projects, ranging from helping users with Python
+environments, to building graphical user interfaces, to translating a legacy
+Visual Basic program to Python.
+As the year is coming to an end, we still have 3 exciting projects in
+the pipeline.
+
+
+## What's next for 2024?
+
+As we enter 2024, our aim is to expand our reach and impact within the UiT
+community. We're excited about welcoming new users and launching into
+innovative projects. Building on our experiences from the past year, we are
+confident that we can continue to provide a valuable service. While continuing
+our established office hours, we're also looking forward to engaging in
+long-term projects beyond office hours.