Expected: DIgital data-dRiven EduCaTion fOR kidS (DIRECTORS)

The DIRECTORS project has the objective to:
1. develop, implement and evaluate a new teaching approach to advance the (open) data literacy of ISCED level 1 pupils  (pupils).
2. develop, implement and evaluate innovative quality teaching material and Open Educational Resources (OER) to support teachers in teaching (open) data literacy at the ISCED level 1.
The project focuses on primary education, which is education classified in the International Standard Classification of
Education (ISCED) Level 1. This type of education typically starts at the age of 5-7 years and lasts six years.
The foreseen outcomes of the project are:

• New learning, teaching and training materials and methodologies supporting updating current primary school curricula on data/information education.
• Increased digital/data personal and professional competencies of teachers at ISCED level 1 in Europe/Croatia/the
  Netherlands.
• An increased digital/data competence of pupils at ISCED level 1 in Europe/Croatia/the Netherlands.
• Accessible and inclusive website providing access to digital/data tools and Open Educational Resources (OER) developed by the DIRECTORS project. The main online website will serve as the principal place for project activities and will benefit both project partners and intended users (DIRECTORS target groups). It will include relevant articles, available open tools, and the lesson material designed/developed.

Towards an sustainable Open Data ECOsystem (ODECO) (2021-2025)

ODECO is a 4-year Horizon 2020 Marie-Curie Innovative Training Network initiative (H2020-MSCA-ITN-2020, grant agreement 955569). The central aim of the ODECO consortium network is to train the next generation of creative and innovative early stage open data researchers, to unlock their creative and innovative potential to address current and future challenges in the creation of user driven, circular and inclusive open data ecosystem. The programme runs between October 2021 and September 2025 and will deliver 15 PhD degrees, in joint supervision and training between the public and private sectors. 

ODECO is a collaboration of TU Delft (Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Faculty of Industrial Design and Engineering, and Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management), KU Leuven (Belgium), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (France), University of Zaragoza (Spain), University of the Aegean (Greece), Aalborg University (Denmark), University of Camerino (Italy) and Huffington Post (Greece). KCOD’s Bastiaan van Loenen coordinates the ODECO project.

For more information see this news item or contact Bastiaan van Loenen. ODECO’s most recent uploads can be found on the ODECO community on Zenodo. 

Enhancing open data ecosystem: intermediary perspective

PhD project of Ashraf Bin Ahmad Shaharudin

Objective: To improve the understanding of the roles of intermediaries in the open data ecosystem and to design business strategies to embed such roles sustainably in the open data ecosystem. The project aims to train the ESR to identify and compare different types, roles and contribution of intermediaries in/to the open data ecosystem, and to investigate their sustainability. The research will use an international case study approach, to:

• Analyse existing models/ types of data intermediaries, the services they provide and their relationships with open data providers and users.
• Investigate the role of open data intermediaries in the open data ecosystem.
• Examine the different business models of open data intermediaries.
• Identify organisations that rely on open data intermediaries and uncover motivations for using intermediaries’ services.
• Investigate how existing and emerging technologies could lead to changing and/or new business models for open data intermediaries.
• Investigate current and future roles of open data intermediaries in a sustainable open data ecosystem.

Ashraf’s project is part of the ODECO project.

Open Spatial Data Infrastructure (Open SDI)

In the search for the ideal spatial data infrastructure a common ground has been established for the development of open spatial data infrastructures. Starting from confidential, highly restricted data with use limited to particular public sector users, SDIs across Europe have developed towards a wider focus, civil society oriented infrastructure enabling a multitude of users to access, share, use and re-use datasets and services from a wide variety of domains both nationally and internationally. Especially in recent years, several countries and public administrations started to make a shift towards the establishment of an open spatial data infrastructures (SDIs), in which also businesses, citizens and non-governmental actors were considered as key stake-holders of the infrastructure.

In this project we assess the openness of Spatial Data Infrastructures. Part of this project is the creation of the ‘Map of Open SDI in Europe’ which is developed to provide SDI decision makers, practitioners and researchers with a more comprehensive understanding of the openness of spatial data infrastructures in Europe. The Map covers three key dimensions of Open SDIs: readiness, implementation and impact. The map provides an overview of the status of Open SDIs in different European countries. The project builds on the work of students of the MSc. Geomatics for the Built Environment. More information about the project can be found in the publication: Vancauwenberghe, G., K. Valeckaite, B. van Loenen & F. Welle Donker (2018). Assessing the Openness of Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI): Towards a Map of Open SDI. International Journal of Spatial Data Infrastructure Research, 13, 88-100.

See also the documentation of the 2019 Workshop Towards Open SDI/AGILE and 2017 Workshop Map of Open SDI/INSPIRE.