Erasmus+ exchange visit to RSU – cooperation with the University of Ljubljana in research data management

From 25 to 29 August, within the framework of the Erasmus+ exchange of experience, data manager Dr. Bojan Kverh from the University of Ljubljana visited Rīga Stradiņš University (RSU) to share his experience and get acquainted with RSU’s approach to research data management. The visit was a continuation of the cooperation that began in May of this year, when two RSU data stewards (Līna Lāže and Viola Daniela Kiseļova) visited the Institute of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics of the University of Ljubljana on Erasmus+ mobility.

During the visit, the RSU data stewards introduced their colleagues from the University of Ljubljana to the research data management support system at the university, the process of developing data management plans, and the RSU Dataverse repository, including its functionality, as well as the process of depositing datasets. In turn, the representative of the University of Ljubljana introduced the work of data managers at the University of Ljubljana, the activities of the Spoznaj projekta project to promote an open science culture in Slovenian research institutions, and the use of the Data Stewardship Wizard tool for creating data management plans.

At the end of the visit, on August 29, the guest visited the Higher Education and Science Information Technology Shared Services Center (VPC), where discussions took place on similarities in data stewards’ projects in Latvia and Slovenia, the aim of which is to strengthen human capital – to prepare competent specialists (data managers/data stewards) and support researchers in data management issues. During the conversation, the representatives shared their experiences and challenges, as well as drew new ideas to put into practice in their institutions. The representative of the University of Ljubljana received answers to interesting questions about the implementation of the DataverseLV repository, as Slovenia plans to create its own research data repository in the future.

The exchange of experiences not only strengthened cooperation between RSU and the University of Ljubljana but also provided insight into new approaches to more effective research data management and the implementation of open science principles.