Tell us a bit about yourself…
I am currently working at DANS as a Senior Research Data Management Specialist, but in a past life I was a biologist working at a model organism database focused on image data, FAIR principles and open science. Having learned a great deal about Research Data Management (RDM) and open science during that time, I moved into supporting researchers in adopting these practices through training and best practices. Since then, I have applied that knowledge to support researchers and support staff across a wide range of disciplines internationally, including in Asia, Africa and the Americas.
Closer to home, I have been involved in many European Commission-funded projects, particularly projects focused on the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). These initiatives promote the adoption of RDM, FAIR principles and open science at a European scale.
You are a member of the DANS Training Team? Where did you first begin as a trainer?
Training was not something I formally trained for or actively sought out to do, although I always enjoyed teaching whenever possible. After leaving biology, I worked at the Digital Curation Centre, where I was the lead trainer and delivered most of the organisation’s training activities myself.
How can you make FAIR data interesting in a training session?
Knowing your audience is key to any training session, as is demonstrating the relevance and benefits of the topic to them. In the case of FAIR data training, using real-world examples and examples that connect to the audience’s own interests can make sessions much more engaging.
What skill or talent would you really like to learn?
Although I love music and have been going to see bands throughout my adult life, I never learnt how to properly play an instrument. Being able to play music by ear is something that has always fascinated me, and I would love to develop that skill myself.
What interesting training events have you got planned in the upcoming months?
I have an RDM training session for researchers in the life sciences coming up in June, which will give me the opportunity to reconnect with the field I originally came from. It will also be my first time working directly with Dutch researchers.
I have also been running, together with guest colleagues, a series of bootcamps for several projects that I am involved in. The third bootcamp in the series will take place this autumn. These bootcamps are an opportunity to engage with the repository community and showcase the work that colleagues and I have been carrying out within these projects. Based on the previous two editions, they have also proven to be engaging and enjoyable experiences.
On 4 June, I will be delivering a training session as part of a monthly training series organised by DANS colleagues. Previous sessions introduced participants to FAIR and open science. In this session, I will focus on the theme of “Interoperability & Interdisciplinarity” and provide a high-level overview of why interoperability matters and how it can support interdisciplinarity.
Interdisciplinarity is a cornerstone of the ambitions of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), and I will explore how it can support researchers and research communities. This is becoming increasingly important in research as data are repurposed and reused beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries, leading to new perspectives and discoveries. If you are interested, you are very welcome to join this free workshop.
About the DANS Training Team
DANS is the national centre of expertise for research data, and training and workshops are a core part of this work. DANS has a multidisciplinary Training Team that provides training and workshops for researchers, institutions and data professionals on making research data sustainably findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable. The team is led by Training Coordinator Dr Deborah Thorpe.
The Training Team has identified a series of thematic areas to focus on in each month of 2026. These are highlighted on the DANS website, in the DataLink newsletter, and on social media. To find out more about DANS Training, you can visit the relevant page on the website or contact the team by email.
