Do you also struggle to equip researchers with the right knowledge and digital skills? Rapid technological developments - such as AI, new digital research infrastructures, and evolving data practices - mean that training needs are constantly changing. Come to our discussion session to share the bottlenecks you experience.

The landscape of digital skills training is fragmented, as many organisations offer training to researchers on a variety of topics. Local Digital Competence Centers have the ambition to improve the organisation and delivery of training for researchers. One of the means to achieve this is through active collaboration. 

Through an open discussion with the audience, fueled by experts in the field, we want to collect input that we can use in further collaborations. The discussion will focus on practical questions: How to collaborate (within and across institutions) on developing and maintaining training materials? What are the main barriers that need to be overcome? And how can we ensure that these efforts are sustainable?

Two current examples that aim to tackle this challenge and find sustainable solutions for delivering digital skills training via regional collaborations are the projects - Programming CAFEs and Building Digital Capacity for NES (DC4NES).
Programming CAFEs (Code Along, Feel Empowered) foster inclusive spaces where researchers can develop and share coding skills. DC4NES focuses on regional Training Hubs and Collaborative Lesson Development, enabling institutions to pool instructors, share responsibilities, and deliver workshops even with limited resources.

These examples, together with other initiatives put forward by experts from the audience, will serve to inspire the discussion. We are looking forward to hearing your perspective!

Eva Lekkerkerker from Netherlands eScience Center will host the open discussion.