project funded by
As an emerging profile, the role of Data Steward is becoming increasingly important in the landscape of research data management support in Swiss academic institutions.
Data Stewards play an expert role in research data management and open data, while dealing with many issues related to data protection, security, ethics, documentation, archiving, sharing, etc. They also bring their support to good practices in Research Data Management.
As of today, this role is often filled by researchers from the relevant research fields, by computer scientists or by information science specialists. Most of these Data Stewards do not currently hold a recognized qualification.
UNIL partners with seven other Swiss academic institutions, to implement a CAS (Certificate of Advanced Studies) in Data Stewardship as part of the project Swiss Data Stewardship Environment: Profile - Training - Network (SwissDS-ENV). This certificate course, to be delivered at the end of 2024/early 2025, will contribute to greater recognition of this emerging profile, while strengthening its skills and offering a new career opportunity in the field of scientific research. It will also build and formalize a community of practice at the Swiss scale.
The project, the objectives and the planned activities are described in detail in the proposal submitted and accepted by swissuniversities.
SwissDS-ENV is funded for two years (2023-2024, extended until June 2025) by swissuniversities and PgB Open Science I - Phase B. The project is part of the B5.2 action line of the Swiss National Open Research Data Strategy and of the measurement plans about Data Stewardship.
The CAS in Data Stewardship is being developed in line with the directives of LEHE, of the LFCo and of the reference criteria of swissuniversities. The CAS is produced by universities and for members of universities. As such, it is thus not in competition with private offers.
SwissDS-ENV includes 3 work packages
Milestones
2026 edition: registration deadline
Registration for the next CAS edition has been open since September. This edtion will take place between March 2026 and October 2026. As with the first edition, it will include core modules, followed by an orientation module to be chosen from the transdisciplinary one or the specialised ones in Biological and Medical Sciences or in Social Sciences and Humanities. Successful students will receive a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Research Data Stewardship, worth 12 ECTS. Other information and the detailed programme are available on the UNIL-EPFL Continuous Learning Department website, along with the link to the registration form. Further information can be obtained by emailing cas-datastewardship @ unil.ch.
Graduation ceremony
Following some welcome words and a few presentations, the successful students of the first edition of the CAS received their diplomas from Georg Lutz (CAS' academic director) and Gérard Bagnoud (on behalf of the director and the scientific committees of the CAS). The official part was then followed by an aperitif.
End of project SwissDS-ENV
After an extension of six months beyond the initially planned finishing date, SwissDS-ENV is ending its activities. The 2024-2025 edition of CAS ends in July. Feedback from participants on this edition is being analysed to be taken into account for the CAS next editions.
Poster session of the transdisciplinary orientation module
Participants in this orientation module summarise the key findings of their end-of-module personal project and present them in the form of a poster.
The SSH orientation module is starting
The orientation module focusing on Social Sciences and Humanities includes four days of synchronous lessons. Participants are assigned some end-of-module personal work.
The BMS orientation module is starting
The orientation module focusing on Biological and Medical Sciences includes four days of synchronous lessons. Participants are assigned some end-of-module personal work.
Starting date for the first edition of the CAS in Data Stewardship
First day of teaching for the 2024-2025 CAS edition and its sixteen participants. The common core cursus includes twelve days of synchronous lessons between October 2024 and February 2025. The participants are then asked to choose one orientation module among those three: • transdisciplinary module • module specialised in Biologiical and Medical Sciences • module specialised in Social Sciences and Humanities
UNIL informs about the CAS first edition
After nearly two years of continuous work in the frame of SwissDS-ENV project, the CAS in Data Stewardship offered by UNIL is about to welcome its participants to its first edition.
swissuniversities workshop on Data Stewardship and ORD specialists
Participation to a panel discussion on the various roles, designations, and tasks of people working in data stewardship at Swiss higher education institutions, in view of the preparation of the Programme Open Science II (2025-2028).
Open Science Days (EPFL, HEP-Vaud, HES-SO et UNIL)
Presentation of the SwissDS-ENV poster at the Open Research Data session of the Open Science Days.
Affiliation of the CAS to the University of Lausanne
By decision of the Rectorate, the CAS in Data Stewardship is officially affiliated to the SSP Faculty of UNIL. Prof. Georg Lutz is now the academic director of the CAS.
Pedagogical training
In collaboration with the Teaching Support Service of University of Lausanne (CSE/UNIL) - based on the book "Design pédagogique" (Lanarès, Laperrouza and Sylvestre, 2023)
Open Science Event by swissuniversities
ORD workshops and networking between B5.2 projects
UNIL reports on the initial results of the project
The SwissDS-ENV project for the creation of a Data Stewardship course releases its first results. Led by UNIRIS and funded by swissuniversities, the SwissDS-ENV project brings together 8 academic partners. After 9 months of work, the first results on data stewardship are now available.
Action 2: progress meeting
Identifying existing training resources (internal document)
Action 1: deliverables
Finalisation and release of the deliverables: definition and profile of Data Stewards; skills and abilities
Action 1: Progress meeting
Working on the deliverables: Definition and profile of the Data Stewards
HES-SO Open Science Day 2023
Presentation of the project during the HES-SO Open Science Day
SIB Press release
SIB has joined forces with the University of Lausanne to foster training for data stewards – Towards a national curriculum for life science Data Stewards
Swissuniversities Poster session
SwissDS-ENV and the other projects of the call B5.2 Data Stewardship
Start of the SwissDS-ENV project
UNIRIS proposal to develop a certificate course in Data Stewardship has been accepted by swissuniversities. In the frame of the call to projects related to ORD by swissuniversities, UNIRIS ...
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