The CODATA Connect Working Group (CCWG) exists to ensure a structural and sustained integration of the activities of the alumni of CODATA-RDA Summer Schools, of the CODATA China and Trieste Training Workshops and other early career researchers and data professionals involved in the CODATA community. CODATA Connect aims to help the participants of the Summer Schools, and other activities, engage with and benefit from other CODATA activities post summer school, by propelling career innovations via mentoring and leadership. The experience of the CODATA-RDA School of Research Data Science comes at a vital point in the career of young researchers in the growing field of data science and who will benefit from further opportunities beyond the short duration of each Summer School. The Summer Schools bring together participants from different regions and backgrounds from around the world on the same platform, working on the same goal in understanding the role of data in science and policy development, and to develop the core, foundational and essential data skills needed for the 21st century scientist. CODATA Connect will reach out to alumni to help establish the bond necessary to foster a sense of direction and guidance towards early career development of the existing and past students.
To date, a number of past students have been invited back as helpers and instructors in the Summer Schools and two are now co-chairs of the ongoing CODATA-RDA Schools initiative. Additionally, alumni have run a community list sharing training and career opportunities, as well as lively WhatsApp and WeChat Groups. CODATA Connect aims to expand and build on this activity and to seek a wider involvement towards the expansion of our goals and mission, to build a vibrant early career community. CCWG is established to improve the knowledge and sharpen the skills of early career researchers and to organize webinars, workshops and competitions to ensure continual benefit to the scientific data communities around the world.
The CODATA Connect mission
The mission of the CCWG is to build a global community of early career individuals working on scientific data in order to:
-
Connect people from various disciplines for cooperation towards impactful cross-domain research projects and to open opportunities for global collaboration.
-
Promote skills development and career enhancement through training, mentorship and leadership.
-
Assistance in finding career and training opportunities and for sharing expertise.
-
Grow the role of CODATA Connect within the wider CODATA community, developing future membership and leadership.
-
Encourage young researchers to disseminate their research projects and findings towards the overall good of the community.
CODATA Connect objectives
The objectives of the CODATA-Connect Working Group are to:
-
Propagate the added value of data sharing to early career professionals worldwide.
-
Build connections between early career data professionals and international data sharing communities (e.g. CODATA, GO FAIR, ISC WDS, RDA etc.), and with other early career or young scientist groups (such as the Global Young Academy and others).
-
Enhance capacity building for early career data professionals in different global regions, particularly in countries with developing and emerging economies.
-
Develop activities like (Meet Ups, Webinars, sharing of ideas, writing joint proposals, networking) for early career data professionals and graduate students.
-
Facilitate collaboration (including development of data sharing principals and policies, capacity building activities, development of curriculum frameworks/elements and training courses, etc.) between different countries for early career data professionals.
-
Organize short Data Science problem solving competition to engage the alumni on regular interval (all this could be more like virtual and physical presence is not required which makes the expense economical) with small rewards like gift cards or chance to present their work in upcoming conferences or publish in journals.
Membership and structure of CODATA Connect
The CCWG is fundamentally inclusive and democratic. The following principles govern membership:
-
The group is concerned with many aspects of data science, analysis and use, data policy, data management and the education, training and career development of data professionals and those in the allied sciences interested in being data professionals.
-
In consequence, membership includes a range of professionals working with data (including data experts, data managers as well as research scientists);
-
Membership includes Master’s and Ph.D. students, Post-Docs and data scientists and experts in the early stages of their professional careers (this is loosely and not strictly defined as within five years of completing studies and starting work as a data professional).
-
No ‘age limits’ apply.
CODATA Connect Leads
- Shaily R Gandhi, (PhD) CEPT Research and Development Foundation, India
- Mariana Cubero-Corella, National Center for High Technology (CeNAT-CONARE), Costa Rica
- Felix Emeka Anyiam, Centre for Health and Development, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria
CODATA Connect Members
- Anup Kumar Das, (PhD) Jawaharlal Nehru University, India
- Mariana Cubero-Corella, National Center for High Technology (CeNAT-CONARE), Costa Rica
- Oscar David Arbeláez, Core of Science Corp., Colombia
- Iris Diana Uy, Marine Science Institute, University of the Philippines – Diliman, Philippines
- Jaime Rugeles, Innovation and Business Center of Medellín – Ruta N Corporation, Colombia
- Divya B., Karolinska Institute, Sweden
- Neema S. Sumari, Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Morogoro-Tanzania
- Sridhar Gutam, Senior Scientist, ICAR
- Jacqueline Stephens, Research Fellow in Aboriginal Health, Australia.
- Zhifang Tu, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.
CODATA Connect Contact Mail ID
E-mail address: codataconnect@codata.org
Page last updated: 2023-09-02.