Skills & Training Working Group

Mission

The “Skills and Training” working group will work on building competence (skills) and capabilities (training) for EOSC. The goal is to provide a framework for a sustainable training infrastructure to support EOSC in all its phases and ensure its uptake. The WG will consult and converge with existing initiatives and H2020 EOSC projects to agree upon key components for skills development and training, determine how these can be embedded in different levels of EOSC (institutional, national, EU), and identify what structures are needed to make EOSC a viable success (sustainability).

Rationale

Digital and Open Science skills are a cornerstone in EOSC’s operations and future. Developing and sustaining the skills of researchers, research support staff, and EOSC service providers is essential for the success of the EOSC vision. An EOSC network of skilled professionals, forming a coordinated training infrastructure, is essential to bring a culture change for sharing research outcomes, policy awareness, and compliance and knowledge of ICT support services, as well as to empower individuals and institutions to develop and maintain EOSC competences science and capabilities.

Duration

Start Jan 2020 – Initial duration 12 months

Deliverables

The WG will propose a way forward through a set of actions providing both policy and implementation recommendations.

1. Skills development framework (competences) for organizational culture change and service development:
   • Take stock of existing work (e.g. EOSC pilot FAIR4S skills framework, HLEG expert group) and identify and prioritize open science and digital skill sets for EOSC, targeting researchers (for open science and RDM practices), service providers (for providing their services to EOSC), and policy makers (on how to align with open science and data policies).
   • Commission a study to frame digital skills required in EOSC in the wider European agenda for skills and provide recommendations for MS/AC on how to include EOSC in national skills policies/strategies.
2. EOSC training framework/infrastructure (capabilities), targeting trainers and professional groups that support researchers in the stewardship of research outputs and service providers in providing their services via EOSC:
   • Review existing organization models of training structures (e.g., competence centres, costs, practical tools, assessment processes) at institutional / national / EU settings and provide options for MS/AC for short/mid/long term to implement training and education programmes for EOSC.
   • Analyse and recommend quality assurance and certification mechanisms for trainers, if any (e.g., recognised EOSC badges and seals)
   • Review and agree upon specifications for an EOSC training/learning materials catalogue, possibly a federated approach as part of the EOSC MVP. Take into consideration existing models (e.g., EOSC pilot FAIR4S framework) and industry standards (e.g., IEEE LOM,SCORM) define metadata, formats, APIs, and the curation, certification, and preservation of training materials.
   • Recommend coordination levels and structure for training in EOSC. Identify  MVP training components and tools. Propose sustainability model for the governance and operation of the training infrastructure including the EOSC training materials catalogue (who is in charge of what).

Dependencies

Sustainability – Training MVP in EOSC (e.g., coordination, catalogue) and sustainability model for the governance and operation of training infrastructure.

Landscape – Training competence centers, models of operations in MS/AC

Architecture – Federation of EOSC training/learning material catalogue and services

RoP – Policies for training material, e..g., certification of trainers or training modules

FAIR – Making training/learning material FAIR. Skills for FAIR.

Milestones

• Q3 2020: Minimum skill set for EOSC
• Q3 2020: Specifications for training catalogue(s)
• Q3 2020: Options for organizational models for regional/thematic/EU competence centers and their coordination
• Q4 2020: EOSC MVP for training and sustainability model
• Q4 2020: Recommendation for EOSC skills/training in national digital skills policies/strategies

Task Forces

• Minimal Skillset TF: An analysis on digital skills required in EOSC will be conducted.
• Competence Centers TF: The TF is conducting a series of interviews on the approaches that organizations use to implement their training activities and programmes;
• Specifications for Training Catalogues TF: A report is being prepared on Specifications for Training Catalogues
• EOSC in National Strategies for Digital Skills TF: A study on national strategies is being carried out by LDK