Data Steward School (DSS) is a specialised training course organised as part of the European Open Science School (EOSS) initiative, a new venture by the University of Silesia in Katowice, which aims to develop knowledge and digital competencies in research data management.
Although this year’s edition is the first to be organised by the University of Silesia, the programme itself has been in place in Poland since 2020 – it was developed and implemented by Visnea and is currently being run under licence.
The training has been developed to meet the growing demand for specialised research data competencies, as required by European and national law and the standards of major research funding bodies.
Why are data stewards needed today?
In light of the European Data Strategy and the national legal framework being developed under the Open data and re-use of public sector information act, research data management is becoming an integral part of the professional conduct of research. In addition, in 2025, the Ministry of Science is planning to implement the Open Access to Research Data Policy, which will expand the responsibilities of researchers and scientific research institutions in this area.
In practice, this means that researchers and institutions need to have the knowledge and skills to not only create data management plans (DMPs) and apply the FAIR principles but also make effective use of European digital assets – data, tools, repositories and computing infrastructures.
In order for Polish researchers to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by the European Research Area, including by the European research infrastructures ESFRI and European Data Spaces, adequate digital competencies are required to enable researchers to draw on the resources of CERN, ELIXIR, CLARIN ERIC, and many others. The European Open Science Cloud EU Node already makes tools, data, and computational resources available to researchers across Europe. The question is – are Polish science and Polish scientists prepared to take advantage of this?
Programme structure
The training is split into three complementary parts:
Basic module
During the five-day intensive course, participants will learn about the research data lifecycle, FAIR principles, metadata, persistent identifiers, repositories, data management plans, legal and ethical aspects, and digital tools to support research.
Specialised module
Tailored to the profile of the participants: exact and natural sciences, technical sciences, and social sciences and humanities. Enable you to deepen your knowledge in a disciplinary context.
Mentoring
Individual work with DSS 2025 experts, supporting participants in developing their chosen area of competence or research projects.
Institutions involved in the DSS 2025
The programme involves outstanding experts from leading institutions in Poland [alphabetical arrangement]:
- ACK Cyfronet AGH
- Institute of Oceanology, Polish Academy of Sciences
- National Science Centre
- Gdańsk University of Technology
- Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Centre
- University of Economics in Kraków
- University of Silesia in Katowice
and from foreign institutions:
- Czech Technical University in Prague (Czechia)
- Digital Curation Center (Great Britain)
- Technical University of Vienna (Austria)
- Technical University of Berlin (Germany)
- World Values Survey Association (Austria)
- Visnea Inc. (Canada)
For whom?
The programme is aimed at:
- project managers and members of research teams,
- researchers at every stage of their academic career,
- administrative staff of universities and research institutes involved in handling research projects,
- librarians and scientific information specialists.
Why?
Participation in Data Steward School 2025 involves:
- the opportunity to acquire practical and up-to-date digital competencies in the area of research data,
- access to the knowledge of international and national experts and good practices,
- preparation for meeting the requirements of research funding bodies,
- the chance to strengthen your own position in the science system and develop a career in one of the most forward-looking areas of academia.