Tell us a bit about yourself?
I moved to the Netherlands in early 2024 to become a Research Data Management Specialist and Training Coordinator at DANS. I have a background in humanities research and a particular interest in FAIR humanities and qualitative data. I completed my PhD in medieval history and literature and, before joining DANS, worked in Ireland for nearly six years.
I really enjoy life in the Netherlands and the challenge of learning Dutch, although I do miss Ireland’s the wide-open spaces, traditional food, and, of course, my friends and former colleagues.
What is your training ‘superpower’
I am often told that I am a good organiser and that I think carefully about the needs of the people attending training. I like to connect with people on a human level and understand what helps them feel comfortable and learn effectively.
That can range from considering dietary requirements and accessibility needs to observing whether participants seem at ease during the training. It’s not always easy, of course, but creating a supportive learning environment is something I value highly.
If you could bring back any fashion trend, what would it be?
Well, there have obviously been many interesting fashion trends throughout history and, as a medievalist at heart, perhaps I should choose one of those. However, I enjoy seeing many of the trends of the early and mid 2000s making a comeback,as that was when I was first starting university. Many of thesewere reviving the 1970s. For instance, the extremely long flared jeans that would drag in puddles when you walked!
What are you doing for this month’s DANS Training Team theme of ‘Transversal’ or ‘soft’ skills in data stewardship’?
Recently, I have become very interested in the ‘transversal’ or ‘soft’ skills that people need to be an effective data professionals. These are the skills that go beyond knowledge of research data management practices or the FAIR Principles. For instance, being able to deal with the complex hierarchies involved in academia.
Therefore, I recently presented an in-person exploratory workshop on this topic at the DANS Open Day. The slides from my workshop can be found in the DANS Training Community on Zenodo.
This month, I also co-organised an online workshop on data steward advocacy skills with a team of people from Sonraí and CaSDaR, the data stewardship networks for Ireland and the UK respectively. During the workshop, a guest speaker guided participants through practical topics such as building a persuasive business case for data stewardship. Although this was a one-off event, I hope to organise similar workshops in the future and I’m open to collaborations.
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.
