Open Science and Research Data Management Train-the-Trainer Bootcamp in the Hague

On 17 April 2019, a great group of trainers and instructors from different backgrounds participated in the Hague chapter of the FOSTER Open Science Train-the-Trainer Bootcamp series. The event was jointly organized by FOSTER, DANS, CESSDA and ELIXIR with the overall objective to help participants explore new ways to make their trainings more effective.

The full-day Train-the-Trainer Bootcamp in the Hague started with an overview of various training and learning resources on Open Science and Research Data Management (RDM). Together with CESSDA’s Data Management Expert Guide and ELIXIR’s Data Stewardship training resources, FOSTER’s Open Science training courses and Open Science Training Handbook were presented.

FOSTER’s Open Science Training Courses answer some of the most common questions about Open Science and how to apply Open Science in practice, while the Open Science Training Handbook provides support for Open Science instructors and trainers in enhancing their practical teaching and training activities.

After the overview of all kinds of resources available on Open Science and RDM, it was time for some practical teaching and training tips as well as exciting interactive activities.

With the train-the-trainer card game, developed and enhanced by Gwen Franck, participants had not only the opportunity to design and present their own training based on four preselect factors – audience type, audience size, training type and audience knowledge level – but also to learn from each other and exchange experiences and best practices in creating trainings.

It was interesting and inspiring to see the interaction and exchange between participants with different profiles and expertise. This was also very much appreciated by the participants themselves. “I think my largest eye-opener was that it is not always a disadvantage if people differ in their previous knowledge that they come in with because you can also make use of that by having people learn from each other and not only from the trainer” explained by one of the bootcamp participants, Mariëlle Prevoo, Open Knowledge Librarian at Maastricht University, after the training.

Foster Plus bootcamps aim to support individuals who have a great potential in replicating and multiplying the training they attended within their institutions and communities. Over the past two years, the FOSTER Plus project carried out ten Open Science Training Bootcamps in various countries, namely in Spain, Latvia, Portugal, Hungary, Lithuania, Serbia, The Netherlands, Brazil and Ghana.

In our YouTube playlist you can find four interviews in which participants and trainers share their experiences.

You can find the slides of the event here:

• https://www.fosteropenscience.eu/node/2613
• https://figshare.com/articles/Data_Stewardship_Training_Resources_in_ELIXIR/8005844/1

Pictures by Vasso Kalaitzi