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Technical Expertise

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CODATA collaborates with a network of technical experts, who participate in various CODATA activities, including Working Groups, Task Groups and Committees. Where the opportunity and need arises, CODATA also engages these colleagues as consultants on particular projects.

Technical experts (A-Z by surname)

Arofan Gregory, Standards Expert

Arofan Gregory (he / him) has with a background in technology, especially focusing on metadata standards for statistics and research data. He has contributed to the development of the Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange (SDMX) standards, the Data Documentation Initiative (DDI) standards, the Generic Statistical Information Model (GSIM), the DataCube Vocabulary (QB), and has implemented and helped develop many other standards and specifications in this domain. His technical knowledge covers XML and related technologies, UML modelling, SQL and RDF, as well as a range of programming languages. Currently, he is the Chair of the DDI Cross Domain Integration Working Group, and is involved with CODATA’s Decadal Programme and the INSPIRE projects in Africa. He is also an active member of the DDI Training Working Group, and is an organizer of the IUSSP-CODATA FAIR Vocabularies Working Group.
  • Key skills / interests: SDMX, DDI, DDI-CDI, DataCube, XKOS, GSIM, GSBPM.
  • Publications: see ORCID profile

 

Joachim Wackerow

Joachim Wackerow’s current interest is in the work around the DDI Cross Domain Integration (DDI-CDI) specification.  He has been working as a data and metadata expert for social science institutes for 37 years. He has been involved in the development of the Data Documentation Initiative (DDI) specifications since 2004. He has served in various capacities on committees of the DDI Alliance (Chair of the Scientific Board from 2016 to 2020, member of the Executive Board from 2015 to 2022, Vice Chair of the Technical Committee from 2007 to 2016). He was the main initiator of the annual workshop series on DDI and metadata at Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz Center for Informatics in Wadern, Germany and has been co-organizer of these events since 2007. He was co-initiator of the European DDI Users Conference (EDDI) and chaired it from 2010 to 2018. His previous areas of work included data management and analysis of large data collections such as the German Microcensus and the German Life Course Study.  Education: mathematical-technical assistant (apprenticeship occupation), study of sociology at the University of Mannheim.

  • Key skills / interests: research data, metadata, social sciences
  • Publications: see ORCID profile