The RDA/EOSC Future team has launched a series of spotlights to showcase the grantees, their work and experience, and highlight the benefits of being an RDA Domain Ambassador.
Find out more about the RDA/EOSC Future grants.
This week we spoke to Jonas Koefoed Roemer, Ambassador for the Arctic Data Community, Ecosystems and Climate Change.
See also:
⇨ Jonas's RDA profile
⇨ Jonas's Domain Ambassador page
⇨ Jonas's page on the EOSC Future grants platform
Can you describe your achievements during your time as RDA/EOSC Future Domain Ambassador?
My ambassador application and planned activities and outputs are centered around the repository Greenland Ecosystem Monitoring as a case study of an arctic FAIR and open data repository, while working generally to strengthen the ties between RDA and the arctic data community and learn new skills in data management and data science. My activities included:
- I published a poster / webpage: "Greenland Ecosystem Monitoring: Journey Towards Meeting The FAIR Principles" which can serve as inspiration for other arctic data repositories of how to benefit from RDA and FAIR standards.
- I participated in Arctic Science Summit Week 2023 (ASSW) to stay updated on current initiatives and challenges in arctic research.
- I created and summitted a disciplinary page to RDA "RDA and the Arctic Data Community", in part based on knowledge from ASSW.
- Going to the RDA Plenary in Gothenburg and meeting up and discussing with the fellow ambassadors, and taking part in meetings and workshops was also one of the bigger items on springs activities list.
- The frequent Ambassador meetings with the RDA team and fellow ambassadorship awardees is always inspiring and helps keep the work progressing.
What challenges did you face, if any?
The ambassador term is rather short, running over the first half and summer of 2023. In part it's nice that it's a very concentrated effort, but scheduling events, conferences etc. becomes a bit too pressed.
How has being an RDA Ambassador contributed to your professional development?
Being awarded as one of the RDA/EOSC Future Domain Ambassadors feels like a mark of recognition and honor. It naturally follows several years where I have directed my work efforts increasingly towards data management, open data and open science. During the Covid lockdowns, opportunities opened to work much more with international groups and communities, both in my domain - the arctic data community - and generally and participate virtually in events around the world. This also boosted my current career path.
While the ambassadorship in some ways is a culmination of previous years hard work, it also feels like just the beginning of future opportunities and ideas to pursue in a career path focused on research data management.
Are there any lessons learnt that you could share with the community?
Go for it, getting more involved with an international community like RDA and EOSC Future is very rewarding. If you are working with data management in a specific domain, don't get too locked in: If you look outside your domain and usual disciplinary groups and communities, you can find solutions and start thinking differently. There's an increasing awareness of, and need for, skilled data management people and open science.
Can you describe your experience at the RDA 20th Plenary Meeting?
In the past few years I have followed RDA and other international communities on FAIR data and open science with great interest. So of course I was aware of the plenary and excited to finally get the chance to participate and meet up this year. The plenary certainly met expectations - it was a hectic, positive, knowledge-and-networking loaded week in professional settings, with so many committed and openminded people.
I am preparing a separate blog post for RDA about my visit to the plenary, so stay tuned for this.
Read the RDA and The Arctic Data Community Discipline page composed by Jonas Koefoed Roemer.
You can contact Jonas by completing this form.
