Latvian research data curators participate in training in Edinburgh
From April 7 to 16, Latvian data curators participated in an intensive training program in Edinburgh, Scotland, organized by the Digital Curation Centre (DCC)—a globally recognized leader in data curation with extensive international experience in research data management, skills development, and capacity building.
Data curators attended the training from Riga Stradins University, Riga Technical University, University of Latvia, Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (LBTU), the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia, and the IT Shared Services Centre for Higher Education and Science.
During the training, participants deepened their knowledge of research data management across the entire research lifecycle, enabling them to support secure, high quality, regulation-compliant, and FAIR-compliant (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data practices. The training also addressed several key topics in modern research data management:
Principles of open science and data openness;
Ethical aspects of research data management, data protection, and handling of sensitive data;
Development of data management plans (DMPs) and use of the DMPonline tool;
Research data storage, sharing, and licensing;
Selection and use of research data repositories;
Development and improvement of research data management services within institutions.
Participants also completed practical assignments, analysed institutional best practices, and solved real-life case studies encountered in the everyday work of data curators. DCC experts generously shared their over 20 years of hands-on experience and expertise in the field.
In addition to gaining valuable knowledge, the training strengthened collaboration among data curators, which will help coordinate research data management initiatives across Latvia more effectively. This experience represents a significant step toward implementing unified, excellent research data management practices and will assist institutions in meeting modern international standards.
The training is part of a broader project aimed at enhancing research data management skills in Latvia’s higher education and research institutions and improving national practices. Within the project, the Latvian National Research Data Repository – DataverseLV is being developed, designed in accordance with FAIR principles and intended for integration into the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). A national network of research data management specialists (data curators) has also been established, providing training and support to promote best practices in Latvia.
The project, titled “Support for the Implementation of Open Science in Practice, and the Development of Solutions for Data Sharing and Participation in the European Open Science Cloud” (No. 2.1.3.1.i.0/2/23/I/CFLA/002), is implemented with funding from the European Union Recovery and Resilience Facility. The total project budget is EUR 3,575,279.40, including EUR 3,444,000.00 from the Recovery Fund and EUR 131,279.30 from the state budget.