The 9th CODATA-RDA School of Research Data Science and Advanced Workshop at the ICTP in Trieste took place from 12th-23rd August. Now in it’s 9th edition, the School has evolved significantly over time, with not even the 2020 pandemic stopping it running (although it was run on an online basis). The 2024 Trieste Summer School ran for the first two weeks with the Advanced Workshop taking up the final week.
The programme started with an introduction to Open and Responsible Research and Research Data Management by SoRDS co-chairs and intructors Louise Bezuidenhout and Shanmugasundaram Venkataraman (Venkat). Over the following days there was an introduction to the Shell and Git by Hugh Shanahan, who introduced the students to Codeberg – a German-based alternative to Github. Bianca Peterson then took over for the Python module, equipping the students with key skills in programming language.
As always, the School focused on Open Science and Open Access practices, encouraging students to become advocates for open research. Andy Nobes provided an introduction to predatory publishing, and Bianca Petersen completed Author Carpentry – a researcher-to-researcher training programme in open authoring and publishing, scholarly identity and reputation, and research impact. Louise Bezuidenhout then returned to discuss Open and Responsible Research followed by a series of presentations from the students on their own research.
Practical experience is another key part of every School of Research Data Science. To round off the first week of teaching, Steve Diggs and Shaily Gandhi ran the practical Research Data Management class, giving the students hands-on experience in RDM practices.
The second week was a packed as the first; students were introduced to data visualisation with Python by Sara El Jadid, and Raphael Cobé taught Information Security and Artificial Neural Networks. Ekpe Okorafor coached the students on Recommender Systems Raphael and attendees got a crash course on Research Computational Infrastructures from Rob Quick.
The School was brought to an end with a closing ceremony, where representatives from the three partner organisations; the Research Data Alliance (RDA), CODATA, and the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) gave talks. Secretary General Hilary Hanahoe introduced the RDA, and encouraged students to get involved with the organisations work by signing up as Individual Members. Simon Hodson introduced CODATA and its work on promoting Open Science and FAIR data, and Clement Onime represented (ICTP), hosts of the School.
The Advanced Workshop covered Big-Data Analytics, Compute Infrastructure, and Smart Cities and Urban Environments.
The cohort for the 9th CODATA-RDA School of Research Data Science were smaller than previous editions, but made up for it with their enthusiasm and willingness to learn; the instructors found the students a joy to teach!
SoRDS aims not only to equip its students with invaluable knowledge, but to create connections between data professionals around the world. With a mix of informative and practical sessions, and time to wind down and network with peers, the School hopes to create lasting relationships between alumni to enrich their careers.
Thank you to the students, organisers, sponsors and instructors that made the 9th School of Research Data Science a success!