How to store research data? Who can have access to research data? What are the best research data management practices? Researchers ask these, and many more, questions every day. Answers are provided during a free online MOOC course developed by the NCN Open Science Team, which is now available on the Navoica platform.
The first English-language research data management course is addressed to researchers and prospective researchers as well as all those interested in learning about research data management and open data sharing.
“The idea for the course originated from discussions with researchers. We can all see that contemporary science relies on huge volumes of data from various sources. They are often generated automatically although the mere data production is not enough. One needs to know how to classify, store, share and reuse data in compliance with the FAIR Principles and Open Science policies. Meanwhile, many researchers told us that they lacked knowledge and support in this respect. That is how the idea for the course came about. First, in Polish and now, in response to the needs of English-speaking researchers working in Poland, in English,” says Dr Aneta Pazik- Aybar, Head of the Open Science Team at the National Science Centre.
The English-language course is based on four Polish-language courses prepared by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling at the University of Warsaw at the request of the National Science Centre. The development of the English-language course was coordinated by the NCN owing to funding from the EOSC Focus project.
Modules and Topics
The course is divided into four modules comprising key research data management issues, from core aspects of open science, through data planning and legal issues, to data storage and sharing in scientific repositories, all in accordance with the guidelines of the National Science Centre and European Commission.
During the course, participants will find out about open scientific communication and open science policies applied by the research-funding agencies, and learn how to produce a Data Management Plan (DMP) in line with the NCN guidelines. They will also receive practical guidance on data management and data sharing in line with the FAIR Principles. Moreover, participants will learn about various types of research data repositories, their functions and the way they are used. Thus, they will be able to better understand the basic legal aspects of work with research data and research data sharing. After the course, attendees will be familiar with data types and databases, persistent identifiers, metadate, and will know the role of data stewards at scientific institutions.
At the end of this free online course, each participant will receive a participation certificate. User-friendly course materials will be available, alongside presentations, video recordings and interviews with experts. Participants will also benefit from a discussion board where they will be able to ask questions and exchange experience with other attendees. The course developed by the NCN Open Science Team is available on the NAVOICA platform until June 2026.
MOOC research data management courses for researchers and data stewards are increasingly popular. They are available to anyone, regardless of affiliation.
Over five thousand people participated in two Polish-language courses (for beginners and intermediate participants) so far, i.e. a total of over ten thousand participants enhancing their research data management competences. The latest course launched by the NCN in English has attracted more than five hundred people over a period of just 4 months of its launch on the Navoica platform.