Open Data training and Awareness Event

Open Data training and awareness event delivered to librarians and information professionals from across the national public sector

With assistance from the Open Data engagement fund, WIT Libraries were delighted to run a national training event in Dublin earlier this summer.  Hosted at Technological University of Dublin’s Aungier Street City Campus, 28 librarians’ attended a full day session on Open Data facilitated by UrbanTide. 

The day offered information professionals an opportunity to learn about and discuss Open Data with peers and experts.  Launching the event, Terry O’Brien, Head of Library & Information Services, Waterford Institute of Technology, described Open Data as “an important and emerging domain that facilitates and promotes the use, re-use, creation and sharing of public datasets in a variety of accessible formats.  Open Data is part of a wider movement towards increased openness and transparency in public funded services, manifested not just in Open Data but increasingly in PSI, Open Access, Open Science and Open Research”. 

The event took the form of an interactive part seminar / part workshop delivered by Steven Revell, CEO @ UrbanTide and Rory Gianni, Associate @ UrbanTide. The morning session covered background, policy, business benefits and the maturity model for Open Data. The afternoon saw high levels of engagement from an eager audience exploring practical steps to Open Data including FAIR data principles, organisational readiness, awareness and engagement.

We were particularly happy to see such a wide and varied turnout for the event. There is clearly an appetite to learn about and develop more Open Data datasets.  Of the 28 attendees there was a real variety, with representation from Universities, Public Libraries, Health Service Executive, Institutes of Technology, Technological Universities and the National Library, evidence of the growing and strong interest in Open Data.  Feedback was extremely positive with many participants signalling intent to develop their institutional and professional capacity to advance Open Data.

WIT Libraries wishes to thank and acknowledge all those that attended and positively participated on the day.  Thanks also to the staff at Aungier Street library, the LIR committee https://lirgroup.heanet.ie/  that kindly sponsored catering, UrbanTide for delivering the training and finally the DPER Open Data Unit https://data.gov.ie/ that funded and supported the event.

Terry O’Brien, Institute Librarian, Head of Library & Information Services, Waterford Institute of Technology tpobrien@wit.ie
David Kane, Systems Librarian, Head of Systems and eResources, Waterford Institute of Technology dkane@wit.ie