Over the last year DANS staff have been contributing to a series of data steward training workshops held virtually for communities across the globe. These workshops are a collaboration between members of the FAIRsFAIR and EOSC Synergy projects, together with support from the Research Data Alliance and CODATA. The workshops are designed as “train-the-trainer” events to upskill individuals working in data stewarding roles within their institutions. The workshops cover a range of relevant topics, such as data management, FAIR data, Open Science and responsible conduct of research. They also include practical sessions on pedagogy and the use of key assessment tools, such as the DANS-hosted FAIR-Aware self-assessment tool.
To date, the workshops have been held across the EU in collaboration with a range of different institutions. These include the Universities of Manchester and Gdansk and the National Open Research Forum of Ireland. Moving further afield, a workshop was also held in collaboration with the Open University of Botswana. In December two open workshops are going to be held that welcome participants from around the world.
The feedback from workshop participants to date has been extremely positive. In addition to welcoming the instruction in key topics relevant for data stewardship, participants have found the opportunity to network extremely important. As many data stewards work in isolation or in very small teams within their institutions, the opportunity to make connections with their peers in other institutions is extremely valuable. The creation of these inter-institutional networks of data stewards will be very important for individual development and the dissemination of good practices.
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