On Wednesday, December 3rd, 2025, the third phase of the training program “Quickstart in Research Data Management” was completed. The program was delivered online in five weekly sessions held every Wednesday from 5 November 2025 to 3 December 2025 via the ZOOM platform. Researchers from various academic institutions, such as the University of Thessaly, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Democritus University of Thrace, and others, actively participated in the sessions.
A key component of the program was the opportunity for open discussion, exchange of ideas, and expression of thoughts. Through their active participation, the participants highlighted critical issues and articulated concerns that were directly related to the themes of the Sessions.
We believe that a decisive factor in the success of the program was the positive and calm environment that was established from the very first session and maintained throughout. This atmosphere was fostered through a pre-planned introductory activity, during which trainers and participants presented themselves using a shared Google Slides presentation, even before the sessions began. These presentations were revisited during the first two sessions.
The educational process was designed with the aim of fostering the active engagement of participants and creating a vibrant, interactive learning environment. Particular emphasis was placed on the combined use of different teaching approaches, in order to promote both theoretical understanding and the practical application of concepts. In this context, the program included lectures, structured discussions, collaborative activities and practical assignments based on real research projects, enabling participants to directly link their learning to their own professional or research needs.
Various digital tools, such as online polls and short quizzes, were integrated into the sessions, contributing to maintaining participants’ interest, enhancing their focus, and ensuring their continuous engagement. These tools also functioned as mechanisms of formative feedback, supporting both trainers and trainees in assessing the progression of the learning process.
Interactivity was a central pillar of the program’s design. Open discussions provided space for participants to express concerns and reflections on critical issues, such as the ethical dilemmas arising from the sharing of research data, while also encouraging the exchange of personal experiences related to the tools and services presented. The opportunity to experiment hands-on with some of the digital tools introduced in the program generated a sense of enthusiasm and further strengthened participants’ motivation for active involvement.
An important part of the training was the Projects platform of the Learning Planet Institute, which participants used with controlled access. Participants primarily used this platform to document and track their tasks related to the projects they had selected. In addition, it served as a communication tool, allowing them to specify requirements, ask questions, and share feedback or comments regarding their assignments. The tasks were assigned on a weekly basis and were carried out individually by each participant.
At the end of each Session, participants were asked to evaluate that particular session. Specifically, each participant rated their satisfaction level on a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 meant “not satisfied at all” and 5 meant “fully satisfied.” We received 18 responses: 17 rated it with a 5, and 1 rated it with a 4. Overall, the vast majority of participants were fully satisfied with the training program.
In the final session, participants were asked to complete an online evaluation of the program. The evaluation, titled “Questionnaire: Quickstart in Research Data Management,” was conducted via Microsoft Forms and had a specified submission deadline. A relevant reminder was sent to participants via email.
With the implementation of the third phase of the training sessions, the second cycle of the “Quickstart in Research Data Management” educational program has begun.
The FAIR-RDM course was created within the framework of the PATTERN project by Deborah Thorpe, Loek Brinkmann, and René van Horick ( DANS), and was adapted by Marios Balatzaras and Theodora Karaiskou. It is available under a CC BY 4.0 license.