Last April, KU Leuven played host to the fourth Training Week of our awesome ODECO project. It was a jam-packed week from April 15th to 19th, split between Brussels and Leuven, where we all got together to boost our skills and tighten up our consortium bonds.
Day 1: Kicking off in Brussels
We kicked things off at DG DIGIT in Brussels, where Alexandra Balahur from Team SEMIC gave us a warm welcome. Joep Crompvoets of KU Leuven got us up to speed on what ODECO is all about, and we dove into some deep talks on how to make data work better for policymaking. Then it was off to the National Geographic Institute (NGI) to hear from Eric Bayers about Belgium’s open data scenes.
Day 2: Getting Creative
Day two was all about thinking outside the box. Els Breedstraet and Nataliya Rozbroj Jasinskaja from the EU Publications Office led a workshop where we brainstormed ways to make open data more accessible. We brainstormed ideas like a data-interpreting chatbot and community-driven data work. Plus, we all got to share updates on our research and pick each other’s brains on using data.europa.eu.
Day 3: Digging into Deliverables
We dove into the nitty-gritty on day three, hashing out ODECO’s deliverables and how we’re going to get there. Héctor Ochoa Ortiz talked about bringing non-governmental folks into the open data fold. And who knew writing blogs could be so interesting? Antonis Fourlis gave us some tips on writing blogs that helped a lot. We wrapped up with a look at what we’ve achieved so far and a meeting with the Supervisory Board.
Day 4: Maps, MOOCs, and Belgian Beer
Henri Veldhuis from SWECO got us all thinking about geo-spatial data and how it fits into our big picture. Anneke Zuiderwijk showed us the ropes on creating online courses that actually stick. And of course, we had to dive into the serious business of Belgian beer tasting while talking about business models and making sure everyone’s included in the data game.
Day 5: Seeing is Believing
Prof. Andrew Vande Moere took us on a journey into the world of data visualization on day five. We had some eye-opening chats about biases and how to keep things fair when working with data. And let’s not forget our discussions on feminist data practices, ending the training week with a critical reflection on the people, strategies, organizations and agendas behind open data!
Wrapping it Up: New Skills, New Friends
We wrapped things up after a quick lunch break before everyone went off with their weekend plans , all buzzing with new skills and a lot of inspiration. It was a week full of learning, laughing, and, of course, Belgian beer. We even got certificates to prove we survived and thrived through it all.
The training week was co-organized by Silvia Cazacu and Caterina Santoro, with guidance from their supervisors Joep Crompvoets, Glenn Vancauwenberghe.
