Certificate course in research data management receives the State Teaching Award 2023

The certificate course for students, designed as a one-week online spring school, focused on topics such as the theoretical introduction to research data management (RDM), metadata standards, data management plans, technical research data infrastructures and tools, research data publications, legal aspects of RDM, good scientific practice and project management in the context of research data.

The special feature of this course was that all course materials were published as Open Educational Resources (OER) in freely accessible format on the Zenodo research data repository. This means that the course materials can be viewed at any time by anyone interested or used for teaching purposes. Over 1000 views and downloads in the first six months after publication confirm a high level of interest in OER training materials on the professional handling of research data.

This is the eleventh year that the Ministry of Science, Research and Culture of the State of Brandenburg has awarded the State Teaching Prize, which this year had the motto "Open Educational Resources in Higher Education".

"This free certificate course is based on the great culture of cooperation that has been tried and tested in Brandenburg for years. Eleven lecturers are offering this special virtual one-week spring school for 30 students from eight Brandenburg universities," explains Prof. Dr. Heike Neuroth, Potsdam University of Applied Sciences.

Dr. Jens Mittelbach, BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, adds: "We see research data management as an integral part of good scientific practice and are pleased to be able to offer an essential building block early on in the academic life cycle with the certificate course."

Dr. Daniela Mertzen, University of Potsdam, emphasizes: " Of course, it is a challenge for students not to lose interest in the topic of research data management during a one-week online course. Our varied and interactive concept, which includes gamification elements, practical exercises and fundamental ethical discussions, supports us lecturers right up to the last minute on a late Friday afternoon."

The award of the state teaching prize not only recognizes the quality of the course, but also the importance of research data management as a key competence for the traceability, reusability, scientific transparency and integrity of research results.

Information on the certificate course "Research Data Management for Students"
The digital certificate course is offered once a year as a block week and is aimed at students (Bachelor's, Master's) at Brandenburg's eight state research universities. The course provides basic knowledge in research data management to qualify students for the sustainable handling of research data. It funds the application of international standards for good scientific practice in the handling of research data. The focus is on problem-based learning to raise individual problem awareness and to fund students' interactivity and problem-solving skills.

The organizers and lecturers involved have decided to split the prize money and donate a share of 4,000 euros to the Potsdamer Tafel.

Daniela Mertzen, Heike Neuroth, Carsten Schneemann, Kathrin Woywod, Claudia Haase, Boris Jacob, Max Kroehling, Jens Mittelbach, Janine Straka, Anita Szczukowski & Katrin Weise:
Certificate course "Research data management for students". Spring School 2023 of the State Initiative for Research Data Management in Brandenburg, Zenodo 2023.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7936966
Version 2023.v2, DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8297723

Next year, the certificate course will be offered as RDM Spring School 2024. Interested parties can already pre-register, and a binding admission to the course will be checked afterwards. Click here to register your interest

Brandenburg State Teaching Award
The Brandenburg State Teaching Award is presented by the state of Brandenburg in recognition of outstanding achievements in university teaching. The prize is awarded annually by the Ministry of Science, Research and Culture of the State of Brandenburg. It honors lecturers at the state's universities who have distinguished themselves through excellent teaching methods, innovative teaching concepts,

Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg (BTU)
Dr. Jens Mittelbach
Head of the University Library
jens.mittelbach(at)b-tu.de

Academic contacts
Potsdam University of Applied Sciences
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Heike Neuroth
Professor of Library Science
heike.neuroth(at)fh-potsdam.de

University of Potsdam
Dr. Daniela Mertzen
Research associate in the joint project IN-FDM-BB (Research Data Management in Brandenburg)
mertzen(at)uni-potsdam.de