Are you interested in learning the basics of open data? Do you intend to advance to the next level of publishing high-quality data? Are you curious about geospatial data, open licenses, or metadata vocabularies? Or are you wondering how to get more training in data?
The data.europa academy (https://data.europa.eu/en/academy) can help you gain further training on open data. It provides you with knowledge and tools to publish high-quality open data that comply with legal and technical standards, whether you are an expert or just starting out. Through the academy, you can also discover how to create impact by reusing different types of open data.
In the academy, you can learn more about publishing and finding open data, interoperability standards, regulatory and technical requirements, as well as get informed about related recommendations. Additionally, the data.europa academy covers topics related to the reuse of open data, such as best practices and measuring the impact of open data.
In the academy’s curriculum, you will find a description of all available courses. The educational material is continuously updated and presented in various formats: for example, (online) training courses, workshops, reading materials, tools, and videos.
The curriculum covers the most up-to-date knowledge and relevant best practices.It is structured around four themes: policy, impact, technology, and quality. These encompass a variety of topics that are considered essential for the publication and reuse of open data.
They are also used for benchmarking the development of open data at the country level in the annual Open Data Maturity assessment by data.europa.eu.
Why data education matters
As we all know, more and more data is becoming available. Therefore, now more than ever, it is important to be able to interpret data and draw the right insights from it. This ability is called «data literacy» (data literacy). Knowledge about data is an important skill in both public and private organisations. It has been found that data-driven decision-making improves public services and business performance.
The importance of achieving a data-driven public sector is highlighted by the OECD (2019), which states that “the use of data as a strategic asset is vital for governments to enhance public sector intelligence and, as a result, to increase the ability to develop policies and services that are sustainable in the long term and as inclusive and trustworthy as possible.” The OECD’s Digital Government Studies also emphasize that “the application of data in government has virtually limitless potential for delivering more effective and reliable public services.”
Similarly, improved data literacy also benefits the private sector. For example, a study of 179 large publicly traded companies found that “companies that adopt data-driven decision-making perform and are 5–6% more productive than what would be expected. Moreover, the link between data-based decision-making and company performance also appears in other performance indicators such as asset utilization, return on equity, and market value.”
Nevertheless, research by the Capgemini Research Institute (2020) involving 1,004 organizations shows that, despite significant efforts, only 16% of organizations have the tools, technologies, people, processes, skills, and culture needed to successfully extract value from the growing volume of data.
The data.europa academy (https://data.europa.eu/en/academy) aims to address this lack of data education. It will support you whether you are a data provider, a public servant, a business owner, or simply interested in improving your data literacy.
Source: https://data.europa.eu/en/highlights/dataeuropa-academy-helps-you-become-data-literate
